


Pick Up the Pieces

by Mighty_Penguin_96



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Adorable Cat Valentine, All the time, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Asexual Beck Oliver, Autistic Cat Valentine, Beck Oliver & Jade West Friendship, Bisexual Cat Valentine, Bisexual Jade West, Bisexual Robbie Shapiro, But he's still a ho, But not as big of a mess as Tori, Cat Valentine & Jade West Friendship, Child Abuse, Closeted Lesbian Tori Vega, Coffee Addict Jade West, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Good Sister Trina Vega, I'm warning you, Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, It's so slow it hurts, Jade West Swears, Jade West is a Mess, Mental Health Issues, Neglectful Parents, Past Child Abuse, Protective Jade West, Rewritten Previous Work, She gets injured so often, She's not having a good time, Slow Burn, Soft Jade West, Straight Andre Harris, The Gay Look, Tori Vega Cannot Cook, Tori Vega does MMA, Tori Vega not being a selfish asshole all the time, Tori is so far in the closet she's in Narnia, Trans Male Character, Trans Robbie Shapiro, Trouble Magnet Tori Vega, Underground Fighting For Money, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, good luck, so much, trigger warning, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:40:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26760763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mighty_Penguin_96/pseuds/Mighty_Penguin_96
Summary: Jade West was a mess. A raging, flaming gay mess. And she might have a crush on Tori. Maybe.And she couldn’t do anything, because when she told Tori she was gay, Tori only seemed confused.Okay, maybe she didn’t actually tell Tori that she was gay. But mentioning her ‘gay awakening’ was pretty black and white, right? But Tori didn’t say that she was gay, too, and Jade had only seen her show interest in guys before, so it’s a safe bet to say that Tori was straight.And her life was already a mess before Tori came into it.
Relationships: Tori Vega/Jade West
Comments: 71
Kudos: 238





	1. The Friendship That Wasn't

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Welcome if you remember/ were a fan of my previous work, "Broken Glass"... yikes. Sorry about that.  
> This one is Better I promise I actually had people Help Me so like. It's not as choppy and awkward and ALSO I HAVE ADHD MEDS NOW SO LIKE I CAN ACTUALLY FOCUS WHEN I'M WRITING  
> This story was beta read by the lovely, amazing @crunchie_morris who doesn't have their co-creator tag permission on so guess who couldn't tag them as a co-creator WOW GOOD GUESS YEAH IT WAS ME (it's fine I'm not actually upset)

Jade sat in her car, listening to the music that was probably turned up too loud, but not loud enough to drown out all the emotions she felt. A knock on the window broke her out of the safe trance the music had put her in. She turned to see it was Tori, so she turned down the music and unlocked the door.

Tori slid into the passenger seat, setting her bookbag at her feet.

“I didn’t say you could come in,” Jade said, but it lacked her usual malice, and only came out as tired.

“Why are you sitting in the parking lot listening to music?” Tori asked, ignoring her comment.

“Why do you care, Vega? It’s not like we’re friends.”

“You let me in the car.”

“I didn’t say you could get in,” Jade said again.

“You unlocked the door, and you haven’t told me to get out yet,” Tori pointed out.

“Fine. Get out.” She put her head against the wheel.

Tori didn’t move. “Do you want to talk about-”

“No,” Jade hissed, turning to look at her.

Tori raised her hands up in defense. “Just asking. You wanna go get coffee, then?”

Jade perked up at that. “Not JetBrew. You’re paying.”

“Wherever you want,” Tori said, smiling.

Jade offered a small smile before turning the music a bit louder and pulling out of the parking lot.

They ended up going to a small independent cafe about 10 minutes away. When they walked in, Jade stopped for a moment, her eyes closed and a smile flickering as she breathed in deeply.

“Jade! Hey, how’s it going?”

Jade opened her eyes and looked at the barista that greeted her. “Hey, Vanessa. Busy day?”

“Not really,” the barista, Vanessa, replied with a shrug. “The usual today?”

“Yeah, and then whatever she wants.”

Tori stepped forward, looking at the menu. “Um. Can I just have the sweetest iced drink you have?” Tori asked.

“Sure thing, cutie,” Vanessa said, winking at Tori. Jade laughed as Tori flushed. “That’s gonna be $8.27.” Tori pulled out her card to pay. “Oh, sorry, Jade,” Vanessa said. “Didn’t mean to flirt with your girl.”

“No, she’s just… a friend from school.” Jade said slowly.

“I see. So I’ll just write my number on her cup then,” Vanessa laughed. Tori sputtered, trying to figure out the nicest way to say no before Vanessa laughed. “I’m kidding. It’s against company policy to do that. A shame, too. You wouldn’t believe how many attractive people come through every week.”

Jade mock scoffed, tossing her hair back. “None of them are as pretty as I am,” she said, jokingly.

“Of course not, Jade.” Vanessa said, playing along.

A second barista came up to the counter to give them their drinks. “Thanks, Beth,” Jade said. Beth smiled and went back to her station.

They picked out a booth in the back, and Jade sat against the corner.

“I was right,” Tori said, sipping her drink.

“About?” Jade said, pulling out her phone.

“I knew coffee would cheer you up.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t let it go to your head.”

Tori laughed. “You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

Jade hesitated. “I don’t know. It’s… kinda a family thing.”

“Come on, you can tell me anything!”

Jade sipped her drink, weighing her options. Slowly, she nodded, the need to just  _ vent _ winning out. “My little brother. He’s starting to turn more and more like my dad- which if that isn’t terrifying enough, he’s becoming reckless.” 

Tori laughed again. “Oh, I totally get it. Growing up with Trina was a nightmare- she would always throw a tantrum when something didn’t go her way. It was horrible. One time-”

“No, it’s not the same. He gets angry really fast now and throws shit.”

“Yeah, I know, I get it. Trina’s tantrums, dude-”

“It’s not the same as a fucking tantrum-”

“Are you sure? Because that sounds like a normal tantrum.”

“Tori, he’s about to turn 9. He took a knife-”

“Oh, one time Trina cut my hair in my sleep-”

“You’re not listening-”

“No, no, I am, I totally get it.”

“God, will you shut up?” Jade snapped, slamming her coffee on the table. “It’s nothing like your issues with your drama queen of a sister.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Tori said, defensive.

“It means you always make shit about you! I was- I was stupid enough to think you would listen, and you just went and made it worse. You asked me to talk to you and you didn’t even let me talk!”

“Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll just listen, then.”

“No! Goddamn it, Vega, you always have to be in the center of attention, don’t you? You think your life is so horrible, with a screech-y sister, two parents who love you, and everything handed to you on a golden platter-”

“I haven’t had anything handed to me on a golden platter-”

“Yes, you have! You got into Hollywood Arts without  _ applying. _ I had to write two essays, go through four interviews, and audition twice! And you get every lead handed to you- you don’t even have any formal training! Do you know how many acting, singing, dancing classes I took growing up? Do you know how many screenwriting classes I take? No, you don’t. And how many did you take?”

“One time I did a summer camp-”

“A summer camp!” Jade yelled. “Once! I’ve gone through years of training! I had to pay for most of them myself! Between getting good grades, working odd jobs, and taking classes, I never had anything handed to me! It wouldn’t even be that bad if maybe you  _ deserved _ it, but you’re not even nice! You’re entitled, rude, and you always play the victim!”

“I do not!”

“Yes, you do!” Jade stood up. “Remember that time that you kissed Cat’s boyfriend?”

“He was my ex!” 

“It doesn’t matter! He was dating Cat! She was happy!  _ They _ were happy! And you just went and ruined it! Do you know how long Cat was torn up about that? Do you know how long I was hurting when you kissed Beck in the middle of class?”

“You and Beck aren’t dating anymore!”

“That’s not the fucking point, Tori! We  _ were _ dating at the time. And it fucked me up.” Jade’s anger was cold and quiet now, but she was shaking. She took a breath and walked out, leaving her coffee on the table.

Tori sat, stunned. Vanessa came to the table and slid into what was Jade’s spot. “Damn, girl. Lucky there wasn’t any other customers here, or we would’ve had to kick y’all out.” Tori looked down. “I wouldn’t take any of that to heart. It seemed like she was having a bad day.”

“She was,” Tori said softly. “But she definitely meant every word she said.”

“And what do you think about it?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Well, if she really feels that way, do you think other people think the same?”

Tori felt dread hit the pit of her stomach. “Oh my god, they probably do.”

“You’re young, hun. You still have time to change.” Vanessa looked at her watch. “Do you need a ride home? It looked like Jade drove off as soon as she left, and I get off in a second anyways.”

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

“Not a problem. Your name’s Tori?”

“Yeah.”

Vanessa stuck out her hand. “Pleased to officially meet you. Now, come on, I’ll clock out and drive you home.”

* * *

Tori wasn’t at school the next day. Or the day after that. Jade privately hoped that she transferred back to Sherwood, so she’d never have to deal with her ever again.

“Hey Jade!” Andre said, walking up to her at her locker.

“Hey Andre. How’s it going?”

“Pretty good. Have you heard from Tori at all?”

“Nope,” she said. “Why?”

“She hasn’t answered any of my texts from the past couple days. I was hoping she came back to school today. I’m honestly kinda worried about her.”

Jade scoffed, still angry from their fight at the cafe. “Why?”

Andre cleared his throat. “I’m not really sure it’s something I can share, man.”

“Come on, who am I gonna tell?”

Andre shuffled. “I dunno, I just… you didn’t hear it, aight?”

“Sure, sure, now spill.”

“Well, I don’t know specifics, but stuff at home is rough right now. She hasn’t been in the best place emotionally recently.”

“Rough at home? Please.”

“Nah, man, it’s serious. She thinks her mom is cheating on her dad, and her dad is coming home less and less apparently.”

“Oh, no, little Vega isn’t getting as much attention as she’s used to! How dreadful!” she snarked, then saw the hurt face behind Andre’s shoulder. 

Tori turned on her heel and walked back out of the school. Andre turned as she started walking, and called out for her to come back before chasing her.

“Tori, wait, I can explain!”

“Explain what, Andre?” Tori said, turning to him. They were standing haphazardly in the middle of the parking lot. “That you shared my secrets with someone who can hurt me with them?”

“It’s not like that!”

“Then what’s it like?” Tori teared up. “I already know exactly how she feels about me. This is just more for her to use against me.”

“She wouldn’t! She cares about you, Tori. All of us do.”

“No, you don’t!” Tori snapped. “You wouldn’t even know who I was if I wasn’t in that showcase! I shouldn’t even be in this school.”

“Tori, what is this about? You belong here,” Andre said, pulling her into a hug.

“No, I don’t. I got in by chance.”

“And you’ve earned your spot a thousand times over.” They were silent for a bit, Andre just holding Tori as she cried.

“I want to go home, Andre. I don’t feel good.”

“I’ll take you home, then. Let’s go.”

“But what about school?”

“You’re more important.”

Andre drove Tori home, prattling on about his songwriting class. Tori could never get the hang of songwriting- she just didn’t have the ear for it like Andre did. Or Jade. Or Cat. Now that she thinks about it, she might just not be good at writing in general- scripts, songs, stories, essays. She could do public speaking on the spot really well, but writing? Nope.

She  _ did _ have everything handed to her at school, didn’t she?

She had a friend group on the first day thanks to Andre. Her teachers are more patient with her than her classmates, even when her lack of knowledge on the subject shows. She’s had multiple leads that someone else might’ve been, no, was more qualified for. And for what?

Did she let it go to her head?

Is that why Jade hated her so much?

Andre pulled into the driveway of her house. “In we go?” He asked.

“I… I think I’d rather be alone right now. There’s a lot I’ve got to work through.”

Andre looked concerned. “Are you sure? It’s not any problem for me.”

“I know. It’s alright, Andre. I’ll… I’ll text you if I change my mind.”

“Okay, muchacha. Be safe.”

“Of course.” Tori went into the house and flopped on the couch. Her parents weren’t home- of course, they were almost never home anymore- so she turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels, waiting for something to catch her eye, but nothing did.

With a huff, she turned off the TV and trudged upstairs to her room. She threw herself onto her bed, groaning.

Whatever she did, she couldn’t get what Jade said out of her head. She hadn’t noticed any of those qualities about herself- granted, she did feel guilty about kissing Beck and Danny. Kissing Beck was a stupid move to get revenge when she could’ve just let what Jade had done go and move on, but she did it anyway.

Why?

Besides revenge, she couldn’t pull anything into mind. Yes, Beck is attractive, but he’s really not her type.

And that made her feel worse, because how bad did Jade feel about it happening? How much was she hurt by it? All for a stupid, petty, tiny reason.

And Danny? Jealousy. She didn’t have any feelings for him. She moved on from him the second they broke up- he just wasn’t for her.

Tori started crying. Sure, Cat had punched her and said that she felt better because of it, but if what Jade said was true, and she’d have no reason to lie, then she hurt Cat really bad. And you can’t hurt Cat without feeling horrible about it.

It was wrong of her to do those things. She knew that. So why did she do them? For attention?

Did she really have to be the center of attention that badly?

Is that what she was doing?

“God, I’m so stupid,” she mumbled into her pillow.

How could she not realize that she was turning into her parents? Paying attention only to herself, and not the people around her, the people she cared for with her whole being?

How on earth could she fix this?

* * *

“Andre! Andre, I need to talk to you,” Tori called, chasing after him in the hallway.

He turned and met her with a smile. “Tori! I didn’t realize you were gonna be at school today! You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I’m… better. I just wanted to apologize to you.”

“Apologize? What for?”

“I… I’ve kinda been a jerk. Like, a major jerk. I… Someone told me about how I tend to try to turn everything so it’s about myself, and that’s really not cool of me. So, I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool, Tor. I’m not tripping over it.”

“Really?” 

“Really really,” Andre said. He pulled her into a hug. “I know you’re going through a lot, chica. I’m here for you.”

“Oh,” she said softly. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m off to class, now. I’ll catch you later?”

“Yeah, of course.” She mentally patted herself on the back, glad that that went as well as it did.

_ One down, four to go, _ she reminded herself. But first, class.

The warning bell rang, so she hurried to her locker to get her notebooks. But even though she was hurrying, she was outside the classroom when the late bell rang.

“Good morning, Ms. Vega,” the teacher said when she entered the room.

“Morning, Mr. Brown,” she said, hurrying to her desk that she shared with Cat.

“You’re late,” Cat said, doodling in her notebook.

“I know. Watcha drawing?”

Cat showed the picture to her. “It’s me, but as a superhero!”

“Oh, it’s really good!” Tori took a breath. “Listen, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something-”

“Ms. Vega, Ms. Valentine, are you planning on listening to my lesson, or are you going to ignore me?”

Cat ducked her head. 

“Sorry, Mr. Brown,” Tori said.

“Now, as I was saying…”

Forty minutes later, the lesson ended with the bell. As the students rushed out to get to their next class, Mr. Brown yelled something about not forgetting their assignments, and a test in a week or so. Cat and Tori were the last to leave the class. 

“So, Cat, like I was saying, I was wondering if I could talk to you?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I just… wanted to apologize to you about what happened with Danny again. It was really not cool of me to do that while you guys were dating.”

Cat shrugged. “Ducks under the bridge, Tori!”

“Ducks?” Tori shook her head. “I just want to make sure you’re not still hurting over it, I guess.”

“Nope! I have to go to my locker. See you in class!”

Andre was waiting for her at her locker. “Hey muchacha, how was class?”

“It was good. I apologized to Cat.”

“Oh? And how did that go?”

“She said that everything is ‘ducks under the bridge.’”

“Ducks?”

Tori just shrugged helplessly.

“Well, I’d assume she means that she’s not upset?” Andre said, patting Tori on the back. 

“I guess. Come on, I don’t want to be late.”

They walked to Sikowitz’s class together, Tori nervously wringing her hands in front of herself. 

“Great, Tori’s here!” Jade said sarcastically. Beck shot her a look, and she responded with a drawn out “What?”

“Be nice.”

Jade turned to Tori as she took her seat. “Well, gosh! It’s so nice that you decided to show up today!” she said in her Sweet Sally Peaches voice.

“I don’t talk like that!”

Jade just smirked and sipped her coffee. Beck sighed.

“Alright, class!” Sikowitz said as he climbed in through the window. “We’re going to warm up with some Alphabet Improv today!”

Everyone groaned.

“Now, now, none of that! Jade, Tori, Beck, Andre, you’re up!”

They got onto the stage. Beck started. “Awesome weather we’re having today.”

“But it’d be better if it wasn’t so cloudy,” Andre said.

“Clouds are nice,” Tori said brightly.

“Don’t be so annoying,” said Jade.

“Everyone just calm down. Today should be a good day,” went Beck.

“Funny you say that,” said Jade.

“Why?” Andre asked.

Sikowitz made the buzzer noise. “Andre, you’re out!”

“Dang it!”

“Tori, go next. The letter is G!”

“Golly, I wonder what we could do today?”

“Hindering as the clouds are, we could go to the beach!” Beck said.

“I would rather chew off my own foot,” Jade snarled.

“Just calm down,” Beck said.

“Kill me,” Jade retorted.

“Let’s talk about something else?” Tori suggested. Jade glared at her.

“Maybe we could go to the arcade,” said Beck.

“No,” Jade said forcefully. 

“Or, we could see a movie!” Tori said.

“Perhaps you should jump in front of a bus,” said Jade.

“Quite a rude response,” Beck said, trying to diffuse the growing tension.

“Really? Am I in trouble?” Jade said sarcastically.

“What is your problem today?” Beck said, breaking character and looking genuinely concerned. “I know, I’m out,” he said before Sikowitz could make the buzzer sound. He sat down.

“Jade! Go again. The letter is S.”

“Stupid is what this exercise is.”

“Trying to be positive?” Tori said.

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible with you around.”

“Very nice of you to say.”

“Well, should I say more then?”

“EX-pecting a positive response?” Tori asked, then looked at Sikowitz.

“I’ll let it slide,” Sikowitz said, sipping his coconut.

“You’re annoying,” Jade said.

“Zebra’s are worse.”

“Are they?”

“Because they smell.”

“Could you please leave?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Everyone look! An idiot,” Jade said to the audience, pointing at Tori.

“Fantastic,” Tori mumbled.

“Guess what? I hate you.”

Tori looked at her for a beat. “Hey, I have something I need to tell you.”

“I’m all ears,” Jade said, looking at her nails.

“Jade,” Tori said. Jade snapped her attention to her. “I want to apologize.”

“Kinda a bad time for that, don’t you think?”

“Listen. I’ve been a major jerk to you, and you don’t deserve that.”

“Maybe you should stop.”

“No, I’m serious. I feel awful about it.”

“Oh, my god,” Jade said, covering her face with her hands.

“Please forgive me.”

Jade looked up. “Fuck you,” she hissed. She turned and walked out of the room, grabbing her bag on the way out.

Tori sat in her chair, defeated, as Sikowitz lectured them on something about someone who she had never heard of before, but she couldn’t focus, so she spent the rest of class moping.

Considering Jade had stormed out during the first 15 minutes of class, Tori thought she wouldn’t have to deal with the backlash of what had happened until gym. She shuddered just thinking about the horrible things that could happen to her in the locker room.

However, it seems that luck was not on her side that day, seeing as Jade was waiting for her in the hallway, seething with rage. “What the _fuck_ was that, Vega?”

Tori flinched, biting back tears. “I was trying to apologize!”

“By publicly humiliating me? You did a shit job! Fuck you and your apology!”

“Jade-”

“No. I don’t want to hear it.” Jade turned and left.

“I mean, to be fair, it wasn’t a great idea,” Beck said. They were at the table. Tori took a bite of her burger so she wouldn’t have to respond. “Jade is a very private person. She doesn’t take grand acts like that very well, like, ever.”

“Well, I didn’t know that!” Tori said through her burger.

“Yeah, because you were thinking about yourself,” Jade said, walking by. She didn’t even turn to look at them. “I’m blowing off the rest of school today. Later, losers. Bye, Cat.”

“Bye, Jade! Don’t forget to do your homework!” Cat said, waving, even though Jade couldn’t see her. Tori sighed and put her head on the table. Andre rubbed her back.

“At least everyone else accepted your apologies,” Andre said.

“I guess,” Tori mumbled, not moving. She didn’t say anything about how horribly the rejection had stung, or about how badly she wanted to make things right with Jade, or about how the apology to Jade had meant the most to her, because how could she explain that to them? She couldn’t even explain it to herself.

But when she lifted her head, Beck gave her a look that made it seem like he understood it all even without her explaining it.


	2. Don't Let Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I promised myself that i'd only post updates once a week... Today's Wednesday, I posted the first chapter on Thursday, and I'm moving tomorrow so close enough I guess. I'd rather be early than late.
> 
> Check out the end notes pls bc I have a request for all you nerds out there that are reading this (And there's a lot of you. Don't think I don't check the hits on this fic and the other fics in this fandom. I see you)

“Jade! How’s it going?” 

Jade shrugged. “Could be worse. How are you? Is it just you today?”

“Yep, just me. And definitely could also be worse,” Vanessa said, smiling. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?” There was a note of concern in her voice, like she was asking if something was wrong, except more specific than that- like she already knew something was wrong.

“Eh, school sucks,” Jade said, trying to deflect her concern.

Vanessa didn’t buy it. “Yeah, sure. I’ll get started on your usual, then we can go sit and you can tell me about it.” Jade started to protest. “Nope, nuh-uh. None of that,” Vanessa said. “You’re going to talk to me about it or I’ll put cream in your coffee.”

Jade gasped in horror. “You wouldn’t!”

“I would. Now, go sit. I’ll be right there.”

Jade groaned on the entire way to the booth seat in the back, and then groaned louder when she sat. She heard Vanessa laugh in the back. Soon enough, Vanessa brought out a black coffee with two sugars. Jade took a sip and hummed appreciatively. 

“Thought you’d like it. I got out the freshest beans we have. Which,” She added, smiling, “I’m not supposed to do. So, I scratch your back, you scratch mine?”

“How is me talking about high school drama scratching your back? Aren’t you in college?”

“Sure am. But I work in a cafe. Gotta have tea,” Vanessa said, laughing at her own joke. “Now, spill. Why aren’t you at school?”

“Because school is stupid.”

“If that was the reason, you wouldn’t be going still. Trust me.”

Jade groaned. “Fine. People are stupid.”

“Amen. Anyone in particular?” Jade didn’t answer. Instead, she took a sip of her coffee. “Girl, if you don’t tell me, I’ll pull it out of you myself.” Jade only raised an eyebrow. “You are difficult, you know that? Fine. Boy trouble?”

“Nope.”

“Girl trouble?”

“No.”

“Family issues?”

“Eh.”

“Friend drama?”

“She’s not-” Jade cut herself off, and took a sip of her coffee, glaring at Vanessa.

“Uh-huh. So, is she pretty?”

“No,” Jade said, sulking.

“She steal your man?”

“She wishes she could. But he’s not my man.”

“So what’s the issue?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Ooooooooh, does Jade have a crush? Is little Jade jealous? Does she wish it was her being stolen instead of her mans?”

“No! God, no. Ew.”

“Then what the hell is up?”

“The sky.”

“Very funny.” Vanessa sighed. “Seriously, what about this girl has you so worked up?”

“I’m not worked up over her!” Vanessa gave Jade a pointed look. “Fine. I don’t know? She’s just really rude and irritating and selfish and annoying. She needs to be knocked down  _ several _ pegs.”

“So knock her down.”

“I tried to! And she missed my whole point!”

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold up a second. Is this the chick you yelled at here?”

Jade flushed. “Maybe,” she mumbled into her coffee.

“Really?” Vanessa asked, genuinely surprised. “I gave her a ride home after you ditched her here. Seemed pretty sweet and harmless to me.”

“That’s what she wants you to think,” Jade said.

“So why is she so ‘irritating and annoying’?”

“You forgot ‘rude and selfish’, too,” Jade huffed. “Where do I even start? She just makes everything about herself, and doesn’t do anything to help the people around her. She always plays the victim, and gets everything handed to her like a child gets candy on fucking Halloween. Which is horrible, because I love Halloween.” 

“Yeah, I got that from that spiel the other day. Give me details.”

Jade groaned again, taking a long sip from her coffee. “Well, for starters, she got into Hollywood Arts without applying. She filled in for her sister at this big showcase thing for the upperclassmen and the principal offered her a spot right away.”

“Was she good?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Fuck, I guess? She did pretty good for someone with no training. Strong voice, she rocked the choreo and made it work considering she was put on stage with practically no notice.”

“So she has raw talent?”

“I guess.”

“And with training, she could be pretty good?”

“Yeah, if she  _ tried, _ but she doesn’t. She gets everything at school handed to her.”

“Like what?”

“Like leads in plays! She auditions for the roles that I audition for, and I get put as her fucking understudy!”

“Would you count that as training and experience?”

“Yeah, but-” Jade eyed her warily. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just trying to get the full picture. Do you think maybe you get put as the understudy so she gets the experience, but if, for whatever reason, she doesn’t meet the par, you- a talented, trained actress and singer- could step in to make sure that everything goes well for the show?”

Jade sat back. “I never… thought about it like that. I guess that could make sense. But she’s still rude and self-centered. One time, she kissed Beck in front of me even though she knew we were dating. Well, kinda, but that’s not important. It was fucked up.”

“She kissed him in front of you out of nowhere?”

“Well, not exactly…”

“What happened, then?”

“I poured coffee on her head,” Jade mumbled into her cup.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that?”

Jade cleared her throat. “I poured coffee on her head,” Jade said again, louder. “On her first day of school.”

“You  _ what?” _

“It wasn’t hot coffee! It was iced!”

“Jade, that doesn’t make it better! Do you  _ blame _ her for kissing your kinda-boyfriend, then?”

“I guess not,” Jade said, sulking again. “But she also kissed Cat’s boyfriend. And squirted hot cheese on them.”

“Didn’t you once tell me about a time that you pushed someone into a pond because they flirted with Beck?”

“Yeah, but-”

“And another time, someone said that they didn’t like your outfit or something, and what did you do?”

“I threatened them with a pair of- what does this have to do with anything?”

“All I’m trying to say is y’all are teenagers. Teenagers do stupid shit. I did stupid shit. You do stupid shit. Tori does stupid shit.”

“That’s fair, I guess.”

“Did anyone get permanently hurt from it?”

“No.”

“Yes, it was selfish, it’s forgivable, isn’t it?”

“I guess. But you didn’t see what she did today! We were in theatre, and we were onstage, and she tried to fucking publicly apologize to me!”

“You’re mad… because she apologized?”

“She did it publicly! It was clearly for her own benefit, so she could sleep at night! She humiliated me!”

“What would she have done instead?”

“Apologized to me privately?”

“If she walked up to you in the hall and asked to talk to you, would you have listened?”

“...No.”

“So, maybe she was actually sincere, and just taking the only opportunity she saw?”

“Well, maybe, but she’s self-centered. Anytime someone starts talking about their problems, she starts talking about a problem that she’s having, or had, or whatever. She always turns it around to herself.”

“Are you sure she’s not trying to empathize?”

Jade felt her jaw drop.  _ “What?” _

“Well, I have no idea what her home life is like, but a lot of people who have mental health issues of any kind try to empathize by giving examples of stuff they went through-”

Jade got up. “I didn’t pay for the coffee.”

“It’s on the house. Listen, Jade, I know you probably didn’t want to hear any of-”

“I need to get home.”

Vanessa sighed as Jade started walking towards the door. “Jade.” Jade stopped, a hand on the door. “Just... Think about giving her another chance. She seems like a nice girl.”

“I don’t do nice,” Jade said, walking out.

* * *

The next day, Tori didn’t see Jade until Sikowitz’s class. She found herself looking for her in the hallways, but Jade was apparently very good at not being found when she didn’t want to be.

That’s what Beck said, at least.

Tori knew Jade couldn’t avoid her forever, but that with how bad she fucked up, Jade would probably try.

And so, Tori found herself dreading going to gym, again.

But even gym was fine. Jade ignored her in the locker room, and stayed on the opposite side of the class.

And that continued. Jade would occasionally show up to the table during lunch, but she sat by Beck, and only spoke to Cat in quiet, gentle tones. Tori found herself feeling jealous of Cat, which she just chalked up to missing her interactions with Jade, even if they were usually rough. But more often than not, Jade would have lunch in her car. Alone.

After a week of hoping that she could fix this with Jade, Tori found herself giving up. Jade didn’t even look at her, much less talk to her. Tori resigned herself to having lost a friend, and tried to ignore the pain that bloomed in her chest whenever she saw Jade in the hallways, or in class.

But then, Jade showed up at her house out of nowhere.

It was a Friday night, so Trina was off… somewhere? And her parents were nowhere to be found, like usual.

Tori was watching movies when she heard the knock on the door, which startled her so bad that she flipped over the popcorn bowl, sending the contents flying.

Well, it could’ve been lemonade, so thanks for small blessings?

There was another knock at the door, more forceful. Tori huffed and opened the door. Jade pushed past her without so much as a greeting, and sat on the couch.

“There’s popcorn everywhere,” Jade said.

“I’m aware, thanks. Why are you here?”

“I need to talk to you. Sit down.” 

“Um, okay?” Tori sat across from Jade, eyeing her suspiciously. 

“Oh, will you calm down? I’m not here to murder you. I don’t even have a pair of scissors on me.”

“Where are they, then? In your car?”

Jade looked at her hands. “Yeah, they’re in my car,” she mumbled quickly.

They sat in silence for a few moments. “So?” Tori asked.

“I… It has been brought to my attention that, maybe… I haven’t been as kind to you as I should be.”

“Really?” Tori asked, skeptical. 

Jade sighed. “Listen, I’m a gank, okay? I’m not good at being nice. I’m not nice to any of our friends. But I’m worse to you. And… maybe that wasn’t something I should’ve been doing.” Tori opened her mouth to reply, but Jade kept going. “And while it wasn’t cool of you to apologize to me in public, it also wasn’t cool for me to react how I did. So…” She mumbled something into her hands.

“What?”

“I said I’m sorry!”

Tori sat, dumbfounded.

“I’m not saying it again,” Jade said, glaring at her. Somewhere in Tori’s brain noted that the glare lacked any anger or actual malice.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to,” Tori said. “I’m just… not sure how to respond?”

“There’s more that I wanted to tell you-” Jade cut herself short and took a breath. “You’re not… talentless. You definitely lack polish, but that’s… that’s the point of going to Hollywood Arts. Hollywood Arts doesn’t accept talentless people and then try to breathe talent into them. Well, aside from Trina. But that’s a different story.” Tori laughed softly. “Point is… keep working as hard as you are. Because… you  _ are _ working really hard. And it’s nice to see someone as passionate as you are. Even if you’re a pain in the ass.”

“And there’s the Jade I know!” Tori said. “I was wondering where she went.”

“Oh, put a can in it, Vega.”

Tori laughed again, and then they lapsed back into silence. “So, now what?” Tori asked.

Jade shrugged. “I guess I leave? And we don’t speak of this, and we go back to how we were?” Jade got up.

“Wait!” Jade froze, looking at Tori in confusion. “What if… what if I didn’t want to go back to how we were?”

Something flickered in Jade’s eyes before her face melted into an indifferent mask. “Then I can leave you alone, if you want. I can’t promise that I won’t come to the lunch table occasionally, but I suppose it could continue going how it has been this past week.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Tori took a breath. “You know I’ve wanted to be your friend for a while now. Wouldn’t being friends be… nice?”

“I don’t do nice,” Jade said again, heat behind the words. She softened. “I won’t make any promises. But,” she added, “we’ll see.” And with that, she left.

Tori sat on the couch, unmoving, trying to process what had just happened.

Jade showed up out of the blue, which was unusual, but not uncharacteristic.

Jade invited herself in, which, if she was there, was actually very normal for her.

Jade didn’t yell at her- weird.

Jade  _ apologized- _ double weird.

Jade almost kinda agreed to trying to be friends- Hell must’ve frozen over while Tori was watching  _ Beverly Hills Chihuahua. _ It was the only possible explanation.

Still, despite her skepticism that this was all some elaborate prank to get back at her, Tori smiled.

She hadn’t fucked things up with Jade.

* * *

Jade pulled into the parking lot of her big, empty house, and put her head on the steering wheel.

_ God damn Vega. _

Jade doesn’t do  _ nice! _ What part of that do people not get?

And yet she apologized to Vega. She even agreed to try to be  _ friends _ with her, for fucks sake.

Jade pulled out her phone and opened her messages app.

**Vanessa🍵**

_ Today, 7:12 PM _

**I apologized. Happy now?**

There was a slight delay before she got the responding text.

**Are you?**

Jade didn’t hesitate in her response.

**No.**

**So why do you care what I think?**

Jade didn’t respond.

God damn Vega. God damn  _ Vanessa. _

Jade would stab herself in the leg with scissors before she admitted it to anyone other than herself, but maybe…

Maybe she did feel a little bit better.

The past week had been rough for her. Vanessa hadn’t offered any support aside from free coffee and the ‘advice’ to apologize to Vega and set things right. But she was telling that to someone who apologized by acting like it didn’t happen. And if Vega’s infuriating kicked-puppy face said anything, it’s that her acting like nothing happened didn’t count.

So damn Vega. 

But she hadn’t been able to push aside any guilt that she felt whenever she felt Vega’s eyes lingering on her at lunch.

Okay, maybe she hadn’t actually been acting like nothing had happened. But she wasn’t mean to Vega, so what else could she have done?

Her phone buzzed with a new message.

  
  


**Vanessa🍵**

_ Today, 7:19 PM _

**So does this mean yall are friends now?**

**No.**

**Just checking.**

Jade groaned. She didn’t want to be alone with all the feelings she was having right now, but all the house offered was silence. Deafening, maddening silence. And sometimes, even music can’t fix that.

She turned her car back on, and pulled out of the driveway.

She was honestly already entering the neighborhood when she realized, first, that she was going to Beck’s place out of reflex, and second, that she might not even be welcome. But before she could talk herself out of it, she was parking in front of his RV.

Too late now. She already wasted the gas coming out here.

So she got out of the car and knocked on his trailer door. 

Beck opened the door. “Jade,” he said, coolly, like he wasn’t surprised at her unannounced arrival.

“Beck. Ever heard of a shirt?” she replied.

He looked down at himself like he was just noticing his outfit, or lack thereof. He was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts. “I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight. Didn’t think to put on a shirt when I heard the knock. I figured you were one of my parents.”

Jade snorted.”Typical.”

Beck grinned at her. “You wanna come in?” Jade followed in behind him, and closed the door. “Lemonade?” he offered. She shook her head.

“Sit down, tell me what’s wrong.”

“How do you know something’s wrong?” She asked, immediately defensive.

Beck flopped onto the couch, right beside her, and threw an arm around her. “Please. We’ve been friends for how long? I know when something’s wrong.” Jade tried to glare at him, but was met with another grin, so she just groaned and curled into his side. “That’s what I thought. Now, tell papa what’s wrong.”

Jade made a face. “I hate it when you call yourself ‘papa’.”

Beck laughed. “Are you gonna talk, or do I have to ramble about all the girls that have asked to touch my hair this week?” Jade didn’t respond. “Jade, seriously. What’s wrong? Is stuff rough at home again? Do you need a place to crash for a while?”

“No, no, that’s not it. The house is empty tonight. Ben is crashing with a friend because dad’s out of town.”

“Are you still worried about him?”

“Yeah. I’ll figure out what to do about it at some point.” Jade sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m just having a lot of emotions, I guess.”

Beck put a hand over his chest and gasped. “Jade West? Having emotions?” He reached out to touch her forehead. “Are you sick?” Jade playfully shoved him, grinning. “So what do you need from me right now?”

Jade’s grin faded. “I don’t know. Hold me?”

Beck wrapped both his arms around her tightly. “Always, J. I got you.”

Jade snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. 

Beck didn’t say anything when she started crying. Nor did he move when Jade fell asleep, even when his arms went numb, and even when he really needed to pee.

But when she woke up, he practically ran to the bathroom, making Jade laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup guys, hope you liked this chapter. I know the chapters are a bit short and they might feel a little bit questionable, but I promise it picks up later on. I have some special things planned out, and I already have a bunch of chapters pre-written that I'm posting, so that's fun.  
> Anyways, I have a request for all of yall out there. I've been writing a song that was inspired by this fic (It comes in to play much much much later) and it honestly kinda slaps but I'm using a chromebook to do this, so that's kind of an issue. Since I'm using a chromebook, I've been doing the music writing on NoteFlight (Great program by the way if you're in a pinch and just wanna write whats in your head. Plus it's free!) but NoteFlight doesn't have any options for vocals, so I've been using the flute as a stand in. If any of yall have a computer that can run something like GarageBand, or if you've bought a scorewriter, or even better, you're able to run UTAU or Vocaloid things on your computer, please reach out to me to help me. It's not required by any means, but I would really really appreciate it. If you're interested, please message me on either my tumblr @rainisgay, or even my instagram, @josh.d.robles  
> Also congrats you know my name now  
> tl;dr I use a chromebook and I need help putting together the song I'm writing bc my chromebook can't run anything heavy.  
> Yep, that's it. See you next thursday!


	3. Close Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning for Child Abuse from Jade West's Shitty Father. Abuse consists of physical abuse and very mildly referenced past sexual abuse. Proceed with caution. Scene begins when Jade gets home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GODDAMNIT I KNOW I SAID I'D BE UPDATING ON THURSDAYS IM SO SORRY IM LATE I JUST MOVED IN TO MY NEW PLACE AND I DONT HAVE WIFI SO I'M STRUGGLING. BUT IM AT THE LOCAL LIBRARY (currently sitting in front of my car bc that poor rustbucket cant idle and run a/c without complaining) MOOCHING OFF THEIR WIFI SO YEET
> 
> this chapter was a bitch and a half to write bc its so dark and it hurts my heart but that's life I guess

Jade knew her dad wasn’t supposed to come back until next week, and that Ben would still be at his friend’s house, so she decided to spend the weekend with Beck. He didn’t push for an explanation about Friday night- instead, he kept her mind busy on idle things, like the monologue he was going to perform, the script she’s writing, small stuff. They fell asleep cuddling watching movies in Beck’s bed on Saturday, thankfully, so she didn’t have a weird crick in her back again.

But Sunday night came, and she could only wear Beck’s clothes for so long. So she said her goodbyes, and drove home with a pit in her stomach. She struggled to put a word to the feeling the entire ride home, but then realized that she was dreading going back to school.

She hasn’t dreaded anything in a long time.

She pulled into the driveway, and walked into the house, preoccupied with trying to figure out  _ why _ when she stopped short.

The light in the kitchen was on.

“Hello?” She called softly, her keys between her knuckles in case she had to fight a burglar or something similar. But instead, when she walked in the kitchen, she saw Ben getting a glass of water.

“Ben? Why are you home? Why didn’t you call?”

He looked at her oddly. “Like you would’ve picked up,” he snarked. He glanced behind her and paled.

Jade turned around, already piecing together what had happened.

“Jade.”

She looked him in the eye steadily, trying to ignore the crawling feeling in her skin as he looked her up and down. “Dad. You’re home early.” It wasn’t a question.

“I am. Care to explain why Ben was by himself all day here yesterday?” He said, stepping towards her. 

She reflectively took a step back. “I wasn’t aware that he was home. No one called me, so I stayed with Beck.”

Anger flashed in his eyes. “Still sleeping with him?”

Jade felt fear rise in her throat, but kept her indifferent mask on. “What do you care?” Wrong thing to say. Jade felt his strike before she even registered the mistake she made. She hit the corner of the counter from the force of the blow as he rubbed the back of his hand. 

The one with the ring. 

It was always the one with the ring.

She felt the blood ooze from the cut on her face, but she didn’t raise a hand to touch it, instead continued looking him straight in the eye.

“Just wait until he dumps your ass,” He said, eyes cold.

“Yeah, can’t wait,” she responded, then flinched, eyes closed, anticipating another blow. But when she opened them, Ben was standing between them, shaking like a leaf, a kitchen knife pointed at him. He clutched the knife with both hands.

“Don’t touch her!” He said fiercely.

He regarded him coldly, then laughed. He walked towards the fridge, and grabbed a beer. “You brats better disappear quick, before you put me in a bad mood.” Jade grabbed Ben’s hand and practically dragged him to the basement, locking- and bolting- the door behind them.

She turned to him, incredulous. “Are you insane?” she hissed. Ben started crying. She picked him up and carried him the rest of the way to her room like a baby, and he clutched onto her. 

“I couldn’t just let him hurt you!” He sobbed into her shoulder.

Jade hushed him soothingly. “I know. It’s going to be okay.” Seeing as he was already in his pajamas she tucked him into her bed. He wouldn’t stop crying, though, so she climbed in with him. He wiggled around until he was comfortably snuggled against her side, his tears leaving way to the hiccups and sniffles. She quietly began to sing a lullaby to him, the one her mom used to sing to her.

_ “Well, the sun is surely sinking down, _

_ But the moon is slowly rising _

_ And this old world must still be spinning ‘round _

_ And I still love you. _

_ So close your eyes _

_ You can close your eyes, it’s alright _

_ I don’t know no love songs _

_ And I can’t sing the blues anymore _

_ But I can sing this song _

_ And you can sing this song _

_ When I’m gone.” _

Ben’s breathing had begun to even out, and she stroked his hair as she watched his eyes flutter sleepily.

_ “It won’t be long before another day _

_ We’re gonna have a good time _

_ And no ones gonna take that time away _

_ You can stay as long as you like _

_ So close your eyes _

_ You can close your eyes, it’s alright _

_ I don’t know no love songs _

_ And I can’t sing the blues anymore _

_ But I can sing this song _

_ And you can sing this song _

_ When I’m gone.” _

She repeated the last verse, then held him silently. She tried not to shake as she cried.

At least her dad wouldn’t try to get in while Ben was with her. At least, he hasn’t tried it yet.

“Jade?”

Jade groaned, rubbing her eyes. She opened them to find Ben practically perched on her chest, his face inches away from hers. She yelped out of surprise, sending Ben careening back, giggling. “Jesus! Why did you decide to do that of all things?”

“Because you look funny when you wake up!” Ben laughed. “And, and, because your face is messy. I was looking at it. Anyways, I need a ride to school. Dad’s car isn’t here.”

Jade sat up. “Dad’s not here? How do you know? What time is it?”

“It’s 6 ish? I think almost 7.” Ben shrugged, getting up. “I was upstairs getting breakfast. I looked around for him but I couldn’t find him.”

“You went upstairs without me? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I tried to!” Ben stuck his hands out towards her. “But you just rolled over and said, ‘Not right now, Beck.’” Ben imitated her, laughing. “But I need to go to school!”

“Okay, okay,” Jade said, stretching. She felt aches all over her body- she slept like shit the night before. “I’m going to go get ready. Make sure you have everything you need for school. Where’s your backpack?”

Ben practically pranced away from her, heading up the stairs. Jade dragged herself out of bed and resigned herself to the shower that she needed so desperately. She grabbed a change of clothes and made her way to the bathroom.

Her reflection stopped her short. She had completely forgotten about the cut on her face, and there was dried blood all around it. She sighed.

Her shower was shorter than she would’ve liked, considering Ben came back and started knocking on her door, yelling that he was going to be late. She began putting on makeup hurriedly, and tried to figure out how she would cover the cut on her face. In the end, she decided not to cover it up with makeup, since it was still fresh, and she didn’t want to risk getting an infection. She could always come up with an excuse if she needed to, or glare at someone until they ran away if she couldn’t think of anything.

She ushered Ben into the car and prayed that traffic would be light, because they were already going to be late.

But luck was still not on her side. The roads were packed, and she nearly got into several crashes trying to weave around people to get where she needed. 

She laid on her horn for a solid second when someone cut in front of her, a string of curses coming out of her mouth. She glanced back at Ben to see if he was okay, and he stared at her, his eyes nearly identical to their dad’s.

“Can’t you go any faster?” he complained.

Jade felt anxiety rise in her chest. “Benji, baby, I’m going as fast as I can. Traffic is bad today-”

“Why can’t you go any faster? Take a different route or something. I’m gonna be late!”

“I know, I’m sorry, it’s just because I woke up late. Here, I’ll take a different route, okay?” She turned into a neighborhood, trying to cut through it. Ben groaned at every stop sign, then yelled when they hit a dead end.

“I’m gonna be late!” He yelled.

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m doing the best I can-”

“Do better!” He yelled, throwing his water bottle at the windshield. Jade flinched as it smacked against the glass.

“Ben, calm down. We’re almost there-”

“You’re useless!” He screamed, throwing more things at her- pencils, random items that were back there, even a book. Fear and anger nearly choked her as she finally,  _ finally, _ pulled into the school.

She unlocked the doors, and he ran out without a word, slamming the door.

She put her head against the wheel and cried.  _ Again. _

Pulling herself together, she started on her way to the local JetBrew, which was packed, then to school, which she still dreaded.

She pulled into the parking spot next to Beck’s car. He smiled at her, sitting on the hood of his car, and waved in greeting.

As soon as her car was off, she practically ran to him. He wrapped her in a hug. 

“Rough night?”

“Dad came home early.”

“Oh, shit. Are you okay?”

Jade shrugged.

“The cut on your face?”

Jade shrugged again. “Stray pair of scissors,” she said. Beck looked at her, obvious to the lie, but didn't say anything about it.

That’s the beautiful thing about Beck, Jade decided. They’ve known each other for so long that they could communicate without even actually speaking, and Beck was sweet enough that while his concern could feel stifling sometimes, he actually paid attention to what was happening with her.

She knew that everyone else would show up soon, so she decided to go find a dark, quiet, private place to chill until class started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Hello I hope you like this as much as I do. Please feel free to come and scream at me on tumblr @rainisgay or instagram @josh.d.robles because I'm lonely. Will update next chapter this thursday I pinky promise
> 
> the song that Jade sings to Ben is "You Can Close Your Eyes" by James Taylor. Feel free to listen to it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2hTQjK1Fa4


	4. Tricycles with Flaming Wheels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm gonna update every thursday!  
> Me: *forgets to update*  
> Anyways  
> Andre's Horrible Girl has so much potential. I sucked as much of the potential out of it as possible.  
> This is my favorite chapter so far strap it y'all

“What is up with you and all the fancy clothes lately?” Tori asked teasingly, pulling on Andre’s jacket. 

“What- what’s fancy? They’re just clothes,” Andre stuttered.

“Woah!” Beck exclaimed. “Is that a Bousay Watch?”

“That is a Bousay!” Tori said, surprised.

“Wow, I’ve always wanted to see a Bousay,” Robbie said wistfully.

“Where are you getting all this stuff?” Tori asked.

“Andre!” A girl huffed, coming in through the double doors.

“Hey, Hope,” Andre said.

“You forgot your new scarf,” Hope said, wrapping it around Andre’s neck. Tori stifled a snicker as Andre let it be put on him, protesting, of course, but eventually falling victim to the fashion monstrosity.

Okay, the scarf isn’t that bad, but Andre looked so uncomfortable in it that it made it worse and a hell of a lot funnier at the same time.

They introduced themselves to Hope, and Andre tried- unsuccessfully- to get away with not wearing the scarf.

“See? It looks nice!” Hope said.

“Like a pretty leash!” Beck said. Andre gave him a look, and it was getting _very_ hard not to laugh at him.

It got a lot less funny when Tori was roped into getting “sush’” with Andre and Hope, but she pulled out her phone, because she knew who would enjoy this situation in its entirety as well. Especially Beck’s lame- although it worked- attempt at getting out of it with Robbie.

**Jade!!!**

_Today, 8:03 AM_

**Guess who just got sentenced into being**

**the third wheel for a tricycle of death?**

Okay, _maybe_ she was just looking for an excuse to text Jade, but seriously, she thought her text was hilarious. Plus, Jade said they could try to be friends. Her phone buzzed as Jade texted back.

**Just because I said I’d** **_try_ ** **doesn’t**

**mean you can text me whenever**

**you want, Vega.**

Tori frowned. That wasn’t the response she was expecting. The typing bubble popped up for a moment before she received another text.

**But if you don’t tell me all the**

**details about this something bad**

**might happen to you**

**✀✀✀✀✀✀**

Okay, that sounded more like Jade. Tori smiled as she texted her back.

**Andre’s new girlfriend.**

**Total nightmare**

**Her name is Hope**

**So I guess instead I should**

**say Hope’s new toy**

Tori paused, trying to think of a response. Her phone buzzed.

**You can’t just leave it at that, Vega**

**Give me details**

**I’m going, I’m going. Just trying**

**to figure out where to start.**

**First, she has him dressed like he’s a doll**

**A very very rich doll**

**Not surprised**

**Can’t say I blame you**

**But she gives. Weird vibes**

**Like not you weird, like obsessive**

**and bratty and controlling vibes**

**No offense.**

**None taken.**

**So she’s like you?**

**HEY! :(**

**You’re the one who said you**

**wanted to be friends.**

**Anyways…??????**

**:((((**

**Anyways, she invited him**

**to get “sush” with her for lunch.**

Tori could practically hear Jade’s scoff.

**Sush????**

**What is this, the fucking 90’s?**

**Right????**

**But yeah she invited us with them**

**and Beck and Robbie bailed**

**Beck literally said that he and**

**Robbie had a “thing” at a “place”**

**Idiot**

**But not surprised**

**How does this relate to a**

**tricycle of death?**

**Because I wanna know**

**what it looks like**

**Is a toddler riding it and the wheels**

**are like on fire or something?**

**??????????????????**

**No, I just got roped into going.**

**So that’s fun**

**Disappointing.**

**I was hoping for something cool**

Tori felt kinda bummed at Jade’s response. She would’ve sworn up and down that Jade would think it was hilarious.

**Give me details about the lunch**

**when it happens.**

Tori smiled. She slipped her phone into her pocket and started heading to first period. She sat next to Cat, who smiled at her brightly.

“Good morning!” Cat chirped.

“Morning,” Tori said. “Do you have plans tonight?”

“Oh, yeah. Jade and I are going to dog sit together.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Just then, Mr. Brown walked in and started talking to the class about today’s lesson plan.

The rest of school until lunch had been pretty uneventful.

Tori was on her best behavior, being nice to Hope, who was, predictably, rude and ganky the entire time. 

“So you really like her?” She asked Andre when Hope walked away.

“Uh, yeah,” Andre said unconvincingly.

“Really? ‘Cuz it seems like she makes you nervous.”

“Nah,” Andre said.

The waiter took their order, and Andre looked near tears when he emphasized that there should be _absolutely no crab_ in Hope’s salad.

Tori raised her eyebrows and took out her phone.

* * *

**Vega**

_Today, 12:44 PM_

**🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟**

**What the fuck is that**

**supposed to mean**

**???????**

**Vega?**

**Sorry, sorry**

**Hope came back to the table**

**Andre and her are talking**

**about her birthday party I think**

**Oh it’s tonight**

**He’s performing a song**

**Okay??? Boring**

**Well gee sorry**

**Just trying to keep you updated**

**Oh jeez**

**I’ll text you later Hope just called me a gank**

**For what?**

**Vega????**

**I swear to god if I have to**

**drag your ass out of a fight**

**Actually, no, make Andre**

**take a video of it**

Jade put away her phone with a huff. She was in the janitor’s closet, avoiding the world, so Tori was her only source of entertainment at the moment. She got up and walked out of the closet, deciding she’d terrorize someone, if nothing else, to find entertainment.

Her phone buzzed. She opened it, hoping it’d be Tori, but it ended up just being Beck instead.

**Himbim with Hair**

_Today, 12:57 PM_

**yo do you want pizza**

**omar texted me saying that theres discounts**

**No. I’m busy.**

**alright.**

Jade started to put her phone away again, but she got another text message.

**Himbim with Hair**

_Today, 1:01 PM_

**I got you your favorite**

**it’ll be here in 10**

**Thanks.**

**no prob**

**come sit with me at the table**

**robbie and cat are here**

  
  


Robbie and Cat were apparently not aware she was going to be eating with them, if their surprised faces- and Rex’s scathing comment- were anything to go by. She sat next to Beck as a guy from Omar’s dropped off a couple of small pizzas. She smiled gratefully at Beck and started eating with one hand, her other idly scrolling The Slap when a notification from Tori came in. She clicked on it.

**Vega**

_Today, 1:07 PM_

**Andre’s driving me back**

**Anyways**

**🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟**

**Am I supposed to know what that**

**means?**

**It means something about their**

**relationship is fishy**

**She scares the wazz out of him**

**How do you know?**

**He almost cried at lunch**

**Over crab**

**Over crab?????**

**Are we talking about the same**

**Andre???**

**Unfortunately**

**Seriously something’s up**

**Huh**

**Maybe he’s a gold digger?**

**Andre? No way**

The typing bubble popped up, then disappeared, a couple times in a row. Jade took a bite of her pizza as she waited for Tori to figure out what she was going to say.

**Oh my god**

**OH MY GOD!!!!**

**What??????**

**She gave him a Bousay**

**watch the other day**

**So? It was probably a gift**

**Exactly.**

**Bousays are like.**

**Literally a thousand dollars.**

**Like Literally**

**Okay???**

**Wait**

**Are you saying what I**

**think you’re saying???**

**Do you think she’s his**

**sugar momma?????**

**OH MY GOD THAT WOULD MAKE**

**SO MUCH SENSE THOUGH**

**GOOD FOR HIM**

**GET IT ANDRE**

Jade genuinely could not hold back her laughter- she was nearly howling with it. Everyone at the table looked at her with a mixture of confusion and fear (mostly from Robbie for the fear though.)

“What’s so funny?” Beck asked.

“You know Andre’s new girl?”

Beck made a face. “Yeah. What about her?”

“I didn’t like her,” Robbie said.

“And you know his new Bousay watch? And all his fancy clothes?”

Beck’s eyes widened. “Oh,” he said before laughing. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I don’t get it,” Cat said.

“Yeah, I’m a little lost, too,” Robbie said.

Beck turned to them, grinning. “Andre’s got a sugar momma.”

Robbie turned right red. “No way!”

“What’s a sugar momma?” Cat asked.

Beck looked at her, trying to think of the words to say. “It’s like…”

Cat gasped. “Does that mean Andre’s girlfriend owns a candy store?”

Beck and Jade dissolved into giggles. “Sure, Cat,” Jade wheezed.

“Oh, look! Andre and Tori are back!” Cat chirped. Jade and Beck quickly composed themselves, but when they sat at the table, everyone stared at Andre.

“Do I have something on my shirt?” He said, looking down.

“Can we go to your girlfriend’s candy store?” Cat asked.

Andre looked at her with confusion. “My girlfriend’s candy store?” he repeated. Before anyone could clarify, or, for the record, cover up for Cat, the bell rang. 

The classes that day were uneventful, but during gym, anytime Jade and Tori met eyes, Tori would laugh about the absurdity of the situation. Jade felt herself smile at her a couple times.

It’s not like they were _friends_ or anything. But Jade noticed that _maybe_ she wouldn’t mind if she was friends with Tori. Even if she was annoying sometimes.

Jade sat next to Cat at her mom’s… boss’s place? Who was apparently richer than even Papa West was, because he owned ‘part of Texas.’

**Vega**

_Today, 6:22 PM_

**SHE’S NOT HIS SUGAR MOMMA**

**????**

**Why the fuck is he dating**

**her then???**

**BECAUSE OF HER DAD**

**Sugar daddy??????**

**Hold up I didn’t even**

**know Andre was gay**

**NO NO NO**

**Andre’s not gay**

**Her dad is Shawn Quincy**

Jade choked as she texted back.

**NO FUCKING WAY**

**THE Shawn Quincy?????**

**Yeah**

**Holy shit**

**He asked me to perform with him**

**in front of her dad**

**At the birthday party**

**Goddamn**

**You’re gonna go, right????**

**Duh**

**I’m not stupid**

**Well…**

**D: <**

Jade smiled at the phone.

**Break a leg, Vega**

**It’ll look bad on Andre if you don’t**

Bored, Jade decided to go explore- ahem, “go to the bathroom.” But if she got _lost_ on the way, that wasn’t her fault, now was it? And if she just happened to poke around the Boss Man’s office, what harm would be done?

The office wasn’t that hard to find. It had double doors of some sort of fancy dark wood that looked completely different from the rest of the doors in the house. _Jackpot._ She tried the door handle, which was, unfortunately, locked.

Looking behind her to make sure Cat wouldn’t pop out to check on her, she quickly took off her shirt and reached up to her bra to pull out the wire. Once her shirt was back on, she also pulled out a hairpin from her hair, snapped it in half, and got on her knees to start jimmying the lock.

It took a couple of tries, and a couple of hairpins, but eventually, the lock clicked into place. She swung the door open and stopped.

Practically every wall was covered with ornate, well, _breakables,_ for lack of better term. One shelf had glass sculptures that looked handmade, but the detail of them was incredible. Jade moved from shelf to shelf, looking at different collectables, from china that looked hand painted, to old collectable figurines that could probably sell on ebay for millions of dollars, displays of records that were impeccably kept, a model car selection, then she saw something that took her breath away.

Three shelves were lined with _old_ horror comics, in _mint_ condition, all of which were signed by the author. Jade recognized most of them from stuff she’d pirated online, considering how expensive just one copy was, or how rare a different one was, but all the authors were definitely long dead.

She turned to the desk in the middle of the room, and saw a skull sitting there. Not just any skull, though- it had a plaque next to it with whoever it was’s name, and when they were alive.

It was an actual human skull.

She’d wasted enough time in here, though, so she decided to grab the skull and leave the room before Cat got worried.

Okay, so maybe she shouldn’t have touched anything. But thank god for that earthquake, right?

Oh, shit, the _earthquake._

Jade pulled out her phone quickly.

**Vega**

_Today, 10:04 PM_

**You good, Vega?**

**Yeah, why?**

**Uh, idk, maybe the fucking**

**earthquake?**

**OH**

**Yeah no I’m good. Nozu got a bit**

**beat up, but the only one who**

**got hurt was Hope**

**But like**

**She kinda deserved it**

**She’s kinda a gank**

**Goddamn, Vega, when did you**

**become mean?**

**I’m not mean!!! :(((**

**But are you and Cat okay?**

**Yeah, we’re fine.**

**How’d the concert thing go?**

There was a moment before Jade received a text back from Tori.

**It went great! Andre can’t sign**

**with an agent yet because he’s**

**still 17, but Quincy gave him his**

**card and told him to call him on his**

**birthday**

Jade waited for Tori to continue, but after a moment, it didn't seem like she was going to.

**What about you?**

**Oh, you know.**

Jade frowned at her phone.

**I really don’t. How’d it go?**

**He said I was good, but not**

**what he’s looking for.**

Jade actually felt the pang of disappointment in her chest _for_ Tori, which was confusing and concerning at the same time. 

**That really sucks, I’m sorry**

**There’ll be more opportunities.**

**I guess.**

**Anyways, going home now.**

**ttyl?**

**Sure.**

**Get home safe.**

**You too.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: writes really fast  
> me: spends forever formatting the stupid chapter


	5. When It Rains, It Pours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternatively titled "A Convertible with Feet"  
> Takes place during that one ep with mona patterson and driving to San Diego. Can't remember what it's called  
> Early this week bc wifi is acting weird so. rather be early than late  
> enjoy

“Cat! Cat,” Tori said,  _ finally _ finding Cat after looking for  _ way _ longer than she should’ve been.

“‘Sup?” Cat said, looking up from her- okay what is that thing? It looks like a tablet, but Cat was tapping it and it was making noises.

“‘Sup’?” Tori repeated. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to find you since I woke up this morning.”

“At least you woke up,” Cat said glumly. “Some people didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Maybe Cat spent too much time with Jade last night. “And why are you all sad?”

“How do you know I’m sad?” Cat asked.

“Well, you’re dressed in sad colors,” Tori pointed out, “and you were playing a sad song. Oh, and you’re wearing a button that says, ‘I’m sad, ask me why.’”

“Mona Patterson died.”

“Oh,” Tori said. “I’m so sorry… that I don’t know who Mona Patterson is?”

“That’s what’s so sad!” Cat exclaimed. “She’s one of my favorite actresses ever. She was on a really popular TV show from the 1960’s.”

Well, that explains why she’s dead. “What show?” Tori asked.

“‘I Married My Mom.’”

“Oh, yeah, I like that show!” Tori lied. She’s never even heard of that show.

“I used to watch reruns of it with my brother when he was in the special hospital where they used to handcuff him to his bed,” Cat said.

_ Yikes.  _

“But now,” Cat continued, “no one even remembers Mona Patterson or cares that she’s gone.”

“I’m sure she has lots of fans who care,” Tori said.

“No. On my way to school, I stopped by her star on Hollywood Boulevard, and there weren’t any flowers or anything! Just a weird man with a hat and some vomit on his pants.”

“Yeah, um, listen-” Tori began.

“I gave him a tidy wipe, but he ate it.” Cat interrupted.

“Well, I’m sorry you’re sad, but we have a science project due tomorrow and we still have a lot to do,” Tori reminded her. They got paired up because the seating is in alphabetical order. She knows Cat gets good grades, otherwise she wouldn’t be in advanced science, but she doesn’t understand how or when any of her work gets done. She doesn’t even think she’s ever seen Cat turn in an assignment.

“No!” Cat protested. “I’m too sad to science!” She started crying softly, causing Tori to panic internally. She was never good at comforting people.

“Okay, where did Mona Patterson live?” Tori said, slightly frustrated, but mostly desperate for Cat to stop crying. 

“Here in California,” Cat said vaguely.

Tori sent up a quick prayer that it was in the LA area. “All right, well, what if after school, we drive to her house and you maybe light a candle, and leave it by her doorstep to honor her memory?”

Cat’s face lit up. “Can it be a scented candle?” she asked hopefully.

“Sure.”

“‘Cause I have one that smells like cinnamon buns!”

“Did… Mona Patterson like cinnamon buns?” Tori asked.

“I don’t know, we weren’t friends!”

“Okay,” Tori said. “Just- you find Mrs. Patterson’s address and then after school, we’ll drive to her house. And then you can leave your candle by her door, and then we can go back to my house and work on our science project until we finish. Okay?”

“Okay!” Cat said excitedly. “So you’ll drive?”

Tori cringed. “No. I- I didn’t pass my driver’s test.”

“Why not?”

Tori sucked in a breath and looked down. “I didn’t see the old lady in the wheelchair.” Cat gasped. “Well, I signaled before I hit her!”

Thankfully, the bell rang before Cat could press her for details. Jade opened her locker behind them.

“Jade!” Cat said.

“What?” Jade replied.

“If my brother lets us borrow his car, will you drive me and Tori to an old lady’s house after school?”

“No,” Jade said, walking away.

“Wait!” Tori cried, grabbing Jade’s arm. Jade looked at her hands, then at Tori, but didn’t say anything. “Please? Cat’s really sad because this actress passed away last night and-”

“Whoa, she passed away just last night?” Jade interjected, smiling.

“Yeah,” Cat and Tori confirmed at the same time.

“Then yeah!” Jade said. “Yeah, I’ll drive you guys to her house.”

Tori eyed her skeptically. “Why’d you change your mind?”

“Because it’s been less than 24 hours,” Jade said deviously, “which means her spirit is still lingering. So I’ll be able to breathe in the fumes of her soul.” 

Tori widened her eyes, and turned to Cat. “Maybe there’s a bus we can take!”

“No! No, I’ll take you,” Jade said. “We can leave after sundown.”

“Why can’t we just go after school?” Tori asked.

“I don’t like driving in the daylight!” Jade snapped, then turned and walked away.

Tori rubbed her temples. “Jeez. Come on, Cat, we’re gonna be late for math.”

Tori’s phone buzzed as she sat down.

**Jade!!!**

_ Today, 8:31 AM _

**So you hit an old lady?**

**Jesus I didn’t think you**

**heard that part**

**Of course I did.**

**I have eyes and ears everywhere**

**👀👀👀👀**

**Weirdo**

**You know it.**

**Anyways, do you know how**

**that old lady cat wants to see died?**

**Uhhh, no? But she was on a show**

**in the 60’s so she was probably really**

**old**

**Awesome.**

**Why?**

**Oh, you know.**

**😉**

**You scare me.**

**Good.**

Sighing, Tori decided to text Beck about Jade’s… weirdness.

**Beck Boy**

_ Today, 8:43 _

**Why is Jade so weird???**

**wym?**

**She’s driving Cat and me to a dead**

**lady’s house because the lady died**

**last night. Something about breathing**

**in the fumes of her soul?????**

**yeah sounds like her. don’t**

**question it too much.**

**Yeah okay but** **_why_ **

**idk man**

**she’s just like that**

**dead things (and people) just really**

**peak her interest i guess**

**It’s pique.**

**same difference**

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Jade was even tame during lunch, only offering sarcastic comments every now and then. She seemed preoccupied on her phone, and her facial expression would change every few seconds depending on whatever she was looking at. Tori found herself trying to discreetly watch her- a raised eyebrow, a quirked smile, a quick frown. Every facial expression was small and fleeting, so Tori savored them before they were gone.

“Tori?” Beck said, snapping her out of her trance. They met eyes, and Beck raised his eyebrows at her, fully aware of her staring at Jade.

Tori flushed. “What’s up?”

“Robbie was asking us what our plans are for the night.”

“Oh! Cat and I need to finish our science project, and then Cat, Jade, and I are going… out.”

“To see a dead person,” Jade murmured idly, smiling a little bit.

The rest of their group launched themselves back into the conversation, chatting around her excitedly about something or other- Tori continued watching Jade with rapt attention. She hoped that it didn’t make her a creep, but she’d never seen Jade this  _ expressive _ before. The bell rang suddenly, making Jade jump a little and look up. Their eyes locked for a moment.

Tori felt herself flush again at the fact that she was caught, not once, but twice, but Jade offered her a small smile with a raised eyebrow. Tori swallowed hard. She grabbed her stuff and practically ran to her next class.

Tori was expecting Jade to say something about earlier, but it wasn’t brought up any time they saw each other, so she slowly started to relax. After school, Cat and Tori worked on their science project diligently at Tori’s house, waiting for Jade to show up.

“My brother’s here with the car!” Cat chirped, looking at her phone.

“Oh, good! How’s he getting home?”

“He said he’s gonna run home-” From outside the house, a man started screaming at the top of his lungs. “There he goes!” Cat cheered. Tori looked at her, horrified. “He screams when he runs sometimes. He says it’s because of the ‘shadow people.’”

“What about the keys?” Tori tried to ask calmly.

“Oh, he left the car on. I should go get the keys,” Cat said.

“That's probably a good idea.” They walked to the front door, and opened it to Jade standing there, looking back. “Oh, hey, Jade!”

Jade looked at her, confused. “Are you aware that a-”

“Guy ran off screaming?” Tori finished. “Unfortunately.”

Jade raised an eyebrow. “That was my brother!” Cat said. “Are we gonna go now?”

“Yeah, let me grab the stuff,” Tori suggested, walking back into the house. She grabbed the project, a snack, an umbrella- just in case- and some drinks for them. She walked back out, balancing all the items as she locked the door, and hopped into the passenger seat of the car. “So, why aren’t we taking your car, Jade?” she asked casually.

“Eh. Free gas, miles that don’t affect my car, you know,” Jade said, reversing the car out of the driveway. Cat gave directions from her PearPad as Tori continued fine-tuning the science project. Soon enough, they were on the freeway. “So Cat, is there some reason your brother replaced the seatbelt with a rope?” Jade asked.

“No. He just loves rope,” Cat replied. 

Jade looked at Tori, making a face. She turned back to the road. “What is that thing, anyway?”

“Oh, this is Cat’s and my science project!” Tori said, excited.

“It’s a robot that’s hamster powered!” Cat added.

“See, Mr. Hamster runs on this wheel, and that creates electromagnetic electricity, which flows through this transformer and then powers the robot,” Tori explained. 

“Isn’t it cool?” Cat asked Jade.

“I don’t know. All I heard was ‘hamster, hamster, science, science, Tori’s boring, kill me,’” she replied, flashing Tori a grin.

Tori was about to respond when she got an idea. She reached into her bag subtly and pulled out her snack. “You want a muffin?” she offered Jade.

“Sure,” Jade said, grabbing it from her. She took a bite.

“You brought muffins?” Cat asked.

“Oh, no,” Tori said. “I found it under the seat.”

Jade reacted immediately. She spit out what was in her mouth, threw the muffin into the road, and started wiping her tongue with her jacket sleeve. “What the fuck, Vega?!”

Tori laughed. “I was joking! I brought it from the house. Not so boring now, am I?”

“Alright, Vega, I’m gonna pull over-” 

“You guys!” Cat interrupted. “I’m not gonna sit here and listen to the two of you fight for the next two hours!”

“Well, she’s the one who- TWO HOURS?” Tori exclaimed. 

“I thought we were just driving to some dead actress’s house and lighting a candle,” Jade said.

“We are!” Cat chirped. “Her house is in San Diego.”

Jade slammed on the breaks. “San Diego!?” 

“Cat, we’ve gotta finish our science project before morning!”

“No. I am not driving this rolling shitbox to San Diego and back,” Jade said.

Cat put her face in her hands and started crying. Jade and Tori looked at each other. “Just drive the child to San Diego,” Tori said.

Jade sighed, then began driving again. “All right!” she said, clearly annoyed. “So what the hell are we gonna do on the way to San Diego?”

“Well, I’ve gotta finish this science project. I have no idea why the hamster hasn’t powered the robot yet.”

“Great. Sounds like so much fun.” Jade said sarcastically.

“I’m gonna put in my headphones and listen to music!” Cat said.

“Okay, Cat,” Jade said. “Make sure you don’t forget to give me directions.”

“‘Kay, ‘kay!”

Once Cat was definitely not paying attention, Jade glanced at Tori. “So, are we gonna talk about what happened at lunch, or?”

Tori froze. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you staring at me like a creep,” Jade said, smiling at Tori. 

Tori flushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The fact that you’re red as a tomato says otherwise,” Jade said. “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine. I was just curious about it.”

“You were just making a lot of facial expressions!” Tori burst out. “I rarely see you do anything other than frown, so I couldn’t help it!”

Jade was quiet for a moment. “That’s… not what I thought you were going to say.”

They lapsed into silence, only broken by Tori’s almost-curses at the science project, and Cat humming along to her music in the back seat. Tori put down the screwdriver. “I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it! Everything is connected properly, but the hamster’s not making electricity!” Tori groaned. 

“What’s so important about this hamster wheel, anyways?” Jade asked.

“The project is 75% of our six weeks grade. It also can give us bonus points on the semester exam,” Tori said, exasperated.

“But the semester doesn’t even end for another month and a half. It’s not even Halloween yet,” Jade said.

“Yeah, well, Mr. Hatchet is kinda nuts.”

“Woah! You have Mr. Hatchet?”

“Yeah, why?”

Jade shrugged. “I knew Cat was in advanced science, but I didn’t put two and two together about you guys being in the same class. You don’t strike me as an advanced science type of person.”

“Yeah, yeah, Trina says something similar. At least I think so, all I can hear when she talks is ‘blah, blah, Tori’s a nerd, blah, blah, I’m better than everyone.’”

Jade laughed- an actual, genuine laugh- and Tori felt something warm bloom in her chest. “I can’t blame you for that. I think that’s all anyone hears.” They were silent for a moment, Cat still humming in the background. “Advanced science, though. That’s pretty cool.”

Tori looked at her. “Really? I thought you would’ve called me a nerd.”

“You  _ are _ a nerd. But so is Cat. Nerds are pretty cool sometimes.”

Tori smiled, looking at her hands.

_ “Sometimes,” _ Jade emphasized. “You still have the risk of becoming like Robbie-”

“Or Sinjin,” Jade and Tori said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

They fell into yet another moment of silence. Tori sighed. “Why can’t we be like this all the time?”

“Like what?”

_ “This,” _ Tori said, gesturing to Jade and herself. “Comfortable. Happy.”

Jade sighed. “It just can’t.”

“But why?”

Jade shook her head. “I can’t talk about it. Not right now.”

“You can tell me anything, you know.”

“We’ll see.”

Anything Tori might’ve said was cut off by Cat. “TORI!” she yelled over her own music in her headphones. “IS THE PROJECT WORKING YET?” Tori looked at her, then gestured to her headphones. Cat took them out. “Is the project working yet?” she repeated.

“Not yet,” Tori sighed. She looked at the hamster. “Run!” she begged. “Make electricity, you fuzzy little beast!”

The hamster stopped running. Tori sighed.

“Why won’t he run faster?” Cat asked.

“‘Cause you bought us a bad hamster,” Tori said. Jade laughed.

“He reminded me of Santa Claus.”

“How much longer to San Diego?” Jade asked. 

“Oh! I’ll check my PearPad,” Cat said. “According to this map, we should be there in about… 63 more miles.”

“Oh, good! We’re over halfway there.” Tori turned back to tinkering with the robot.

“Hey, the hamster’s running faster!”

Tori glanced at it, then turned back to connecting wires. “Yeah,” she said. “Come on, fat Santa.” Jade snorted. “I don’t understand why we’re not getting any power to-” Just then, the robot powered on and started moving. Cat and Tori both cheered.

Jade looked up for a moment. “Uh, ladies, I hate to rain on your parade, but I think it’s raining on your parade.”

“Uh-oh,” Cat said softly.

“Yeah, it’s definitely raining,” Tori said. There was cluttering in the back, and Cat squealed. “Hey, Cat, I think I brought an umbrella. Do you see it back there?”

“No, not really,” Cat said softly. Jade and Tori looked at each other, and both resigned themselves to a damp car ride.

* * *

Let the records show that Tori was okay with a  _ damp _ car ride, not a  _ soaking wet  _ one. It was obvious that Jade was struggling with seeing, if the fact that she responded to curves on the freeway late was any indication. Thankfully there wasn’t any traffic, otherwise they might have died by now. Tori glanced at Jade, who was wiping water from her eyes every couple of seconds, and leaning forward to try to look through the windshield. “We’ve got to pull over!” Tori cried over the pouring rain.

“I can’t pull over on this freeway, there’s no place to stop!” Jade yelled back. 

“I’m getting wet!” Cat complained.

Suddenly, Tori remembered they were in a convertible, not just a topless car. “How do we put up the top?” Tori asked.

Jade looked at her like she had worked a miracle. “Cat, where’s the switch to put the top up?”

“Right there! Under the radio!”

Tori reached over and pressed the switch, but nothing happened. She pressed it a couple more times- still nothing. “It’s not working!” she said.

“I know, it’s broken!” Cat replied.

“How long until the next exit?” Jade asked desperately.

“10 more minutes!” Cat cried. 

After a moment of letting the reality of the situation sink in, Tori reached across Jade and pressed the button with the windshield wiper icon on it. 

“Oh, that’s better,” Jade said sarcastically. After a moment, both windshield wipers snapped off at the same time, going flying behind them. Jade groaned. “Fuck it! I’m not driving for ten more minutes in pouring rain! Is everyone buckled in?” As soon as Tori and Cat confirmed that they were buckled in, Jade stepped on the gas pedal, accelerating until they were going nearly 100 miles per hour in a 75.

“This is dangerous!” Tori reprimanded.

“I know!” Jade replied. “It’s fine, I’m a good driver!”

“Yeah, but it’s raining and we can’t see!”

“Shut up, Vega! I got this!”

Cat was screaming in the back seat. 

“There! There’s the exit!” Tori cried, pointing. Jade pulled off into it, finally slowing down. They pulled into a shady-looking gas station on the side of the road. Jade parked the car, and they all got out. The rain tapered off to a drizzle, then stopped completely. Tori glanced at Jade, whose wet clothes were clinging to her. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Jade teased, making Tori blush.

Snapping out of it, Tori looked around. “At least it stopped raining?” Tori said hopefully. 

“For now,” Jade snarked. 

Tori sighed. “Well, we have to get the top up on this car in case it starts raining again.”

“Yeah, I’d hate to get all wet and disgusting,” Jade mumbled, wringing out her shirt. 

“Come on, guys, let’s just try and pull up the top ourselves.”

“It’s broken,” Cat said.

“We know that,” Jade said. She looked at Tori, whose muscles were rippling under her wet clothes. “Does your brother have any tools in the car?” Jade asked Cat, tearing her eyes away from Tori.

“I think in the trunk,” Cat said.

“Let’s open the trunk, then!” Tori said. They all shuffled to behind the car as Jade fiddled with the keys. Finding the right key, she popped the trunk.

Tori and Jade both screamed, jumping back. Jade put an arm in front of Tori, and swept Tori behind herself protectively. 

Taking a moment to compose herself, Tori stepped forward and grabbed the offending item from the trunk. “What,” she said, holding up a vacuum sealed bag of feet, “is this?”

“Don’t worry, they’re not real feet,” Cat said calmly.

“But why does your brother have a bag of  _ fake _ feet in the trunk of his car?” Jade asked disbelievingly. 

“I’m not gonna lie, my brother’s pretty weird,” Cat said, still surprisingly calm. Tori threw the bag of feet back in the trunk. She dug around and found a crowbar.

“Let’s just see if we can get the top up,” She said, holding the crowbar to her chest. Jade slammed the trunk shut. Tori wedged the crowbar underneath the hood and started pulling. The hood groaned in protest, but moved just a little. Cat started pulling from the other side, and the hood was almost coming up, but not quite. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and looked up to see Jade staring at her, an unidentifiable look on her face. Tori motioned for Jade to help, then began pushing on the crowbar again. Finally, something released, and the top flipped up and clicked into place. Tori sighed as she realized that it was only the frame of the top, it didn’t have a cover. 

“Our car is topless,” Cat giggled softly. 

Tori sighed. “Let’s just go back to LA.” 

“No!” Cat protested. “You guys promised we could go to Mona Patterson’s house so I could light a candle and leave it by her door!” Jade looked at Tori.

“But, Cat,” Tori whined.

“Please!” Cat begged. 

“Come on. It’s already late and we need to get back to LA so we can finish our science project.”

Jade’s face went pale. “Tori?” she said softly. “Tori.”

“What?” Tori asked, slightly afraid. She turned around slowly and gasped.

There was a clown less than 6 feet away from her, staring at her with a weird look in his eyes. “Can I have a ride to your house?” he asked, his voice gravelly and sinister.

“No,” Tori said slowly. “No, we’re driving our friend to San Diego.” She took a step back towards the car. 

The clown stepped closer to her. “When are you going to ‘San Die-ago?’” He continued inching closer to her. Tori began to panic, walking slowly towards the car door.

“Oh, you know,” she said quietly. “Now!” She bolted into the car. Jade and Cat scrambled into the car after her, and Jade peeled off out of the gas station.

“Are you okay?” Jade asked forcefully. Tori didn’t respond right away. “Are you okay?” Jade repeated, louder, looking at Tori. Fear was written all over her face.

“Yeah,” Tori gasped, adrenaline pumping through her. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“He didn’t touch you or anything? You’re good?”  
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m okay.” Tori looked at Jade, who was holding onto the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. She appeared to be shaking. “Are you okay, Jade?” she asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” Jade snapped. Tori pulled her hand back quickly. Jade sighed. “Sorry. I’m a little freaked out.”

“No, it’s okay. I get it,” Tori said softly.

“Guys, we forgot the crowbar,” Cat said.

“It’s fine, Cat, we’ll get your brother another one.”

Cat hummed thoughtfully. “No, I think it’s fine. He has four in his room.” 

Jade and Tori both looked at Cat before all three of them burst into nervous at the absurdity of the situation.

“Hey, we’re almost there!” Cat crowed. “Next exit, and then only two miles away!” Jade whooped, making Tori smile.

Within moments, they were pulling into a neighborhood so nice it put Tori’s to shame. She looked at the houses in awe as Jade turned into a driveway. They got out silently, and shuffled to the porch of the late Mona Patterson.

“I am soaking wet,” Tori said to no one in particular.

“We all are,” Jade complained. “Do you not hear our feet squishing?”

Tori ignored her, turning to Cat. “There, Cat, Mona Patterson’s front door.”

“Yeah,” Cat said sadly. “And there aren’t any flowers or cards or anything, see? No one cares that she died.” She sniffled. 

Jade rubbed Cat’s shoulder. “Go light your candle, so we can get out of here, Kitty-Cat.”

Cat smiled softly, then went to the porch. 

“I thought you were all psyched to come here and breathe in the fumes of Mona’s lingering soul,” Tori teased.

“Well, it’s hard to enjoy it when my pants are soggy,” Jade said, frowning. 

Cat lit the candle. “I feel like I should say a few words about her.”

“Hurry,” Jade urged, rubbing her arms to fend off the cold.

Cat gingerly held the picture of Mona Patterson. “Mona Patterson, I’m so sorry you died,” she said, voice cracking. “I used to love watching you on ‘I Married My Mom.’ And I-” she broke off and started crying.

Jade nudged Tori. “Go finish for her,” she said. Tori turned to her to protest, but Jade teasingly mocked her.

Tori sighed and sat next to Cat, taking the portrait out of her hands. “And… Mona, your memory will live forever in your work on television,” She drew Cat into a hug. “Where you showed us all how funny and awkward it is when you marry your own mother.”

“Amen, let’s go,” Jade said, turning to walk away.

“Come on,” Tori urged Cat. 

“But don’t you think we should wait just one more minute and-”

The door to the house opened, and a very grumpy, very alive Mona Patterson walked out angrily. “Who’s out here?” she asked.

Tori and Cat shrieked in surprise. Cat walked up to her slowly. “Be gone, ghost of Mona Patterson,” she said, waving her hand towards the woman. “Go to the light!”

Jade walked up behind Cat and grabbed her shoulders, steering her away. “Cat, I’m almost sure she’s not dead.” Cat broke away and walked towards Mona, hand out to touch her. Mona slapped her hand away, which Cat drew to her chest protectively.

“Why did you think she was dead?” Tori asked, exasperated. 

“I read it online!” Cat said. “It said Mona Patterson joins the dead.”

“That’s a new TV show, you dip!” Mona explained, annoyed. “It’s a story about me being cast on a show  _ called _ ‘The Dead.’ I play David Schwimmer’s wife.” 

“Well, nice to meet you! I’m Cat!”

“Good,” Mona said sarcastically. “I have something nice for cats.” She turned and walked into the house. Cat turned to Jade and Tori, smiling excitedly.

“Oh, no,” Tori groaned softly.

“Ditto,” Jade replied.

Mona Patterson came back out holding a Super Soaker Gun. Cat ran behind Tori and Jade.

“Now, just wait a second,” Tori pleaded. “This girl,” she dragged Cat out from behind her, “made us drive two hours through the rain in a topless convertible just because she loves you and your work. So, would it kill you to just be a little bit nice and-”

Tori was cut off by Mona Patterson spraying them with the Super Soaker. The girls turned and ran away, one by one.

* * *

Jade was miserable.

They were on the freeway on their way back, Cat strapped down in an awkward way so she could lay down in the back seat. She was crying softly to herself as she listened to music on her PearPad. Jade wanted to help, but what was she supposed to do? Cat just found out that her favorite actress was alive after mourning all day, and then found out that said actress is a Grade A Bitch. Jade would probably be pretty upset herself, if she was in the same situation.

Well, maybe not.

Still, it hurt her when Cat cried. Occasionally she’d reach back with one hand, and Cat would grasp it tightly in both of hers until Jade needed it back to steer.

More than that, though, Jade was soaking wet, and it pissed her off. She hated being wet. She hated being in wet clothes. She hated being cold, and she hated being cold because she was wet even more. 

Oh, well, it wasn’t like she could do anything about it at the moment. She focused on getting them home as fast as possible, speeding  _ just a little bit _ to make it faster. Tori placed the project in between her feet and put her head in her hands.

Another reason she was miserable. She had promised Tori that she’d try to be friends, and she  _ has tried. _ She’s been nicer, less prickly. She’s been treating her similarly to how she treated Beck.

But trying to be friends didn’t give Tori the right to make her feel all these goddamn  _ emotions. _ Something about her interactions with her left her feeling raw and vulnerable, but not in a bad way. And it pissed her off. She didn’t want to smile, she didn’t want to laugh. Not in public, at least. She didn’t want to feel the warmth in her chest that happened when Tori smiled at her, or when she made it obvious how much she cared about everyone.

Jade had admitted to herself that maybe the reason she thought Tori was so selfish before was just that she didn’t want to accept that Tori could be nice. Granted, Tori had moments of selfishness, but didn’t they all?

Today, though. Seeing Tori comfort Cat when Cat tried to give a tribute to Patterson… Jade didn’t know what she had felt when that happened. It had made her want to laugh, to cry, to hug both of them and show them that she was here for them. Or, even earlier than that, when Jade had been so afraid of that fucking clown hurting Tori. What the fuck was that? Since when did she care that much? But Tori had seen right through her concern and noticed the fear that was there. And she had asked Jade if she was okay.

Damn Vega. She didn’t want to feel emotions. There was a reason she was so cold to everyone.

“Jade?”

Jade snapped out of her thoughts and saw Tori looking at her curiously. “What’s up, Vega?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Tori shrugged. “You seem stressed.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay.” Tori leaned her head on Jade’s shoulder, yawning. Jade froze, but didn’t push her away. “If you need to talk about anything, I’m here for you. I know you think I’m selfish, but I care about you, and I’ll work on being better.”

_ God damn Tori Vega. _ “Thanks, Vega,” Jade said coolly. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

Tori hummed, eyes fluttering shut. Within moments, she was sleeping soundly on Jade’s shoulder. Jade felt warmth bloom in her chest, spreading until she was practically vibrating with the intensity of the emotion. 

It confused the hell out of her. She felt secure and safe with Tori in times like this, but the thought of being with Tori anywhere, public, private, didn’t matter, made her scared out of her wits. The only other two people who she felt like this with were Beck and Cat, but she’s known them for years, and it took a long time for her to feel that secure with either of them. But Vega was able to do it in just under a year- less than that, technically, because Jade was such a gank to her until very recently.

Jade decided that the best course of action would be to put back up the walls that Tori had been breaking down. Being friends with her would only result in both of them getting hurt. She resigned herself to cutting Tori off as soon as she could. She was fine with this.

But why did even thinking about it hurt so much?

Part of her, deep down, wished she could talk to her mom about this. But her mom left. Everyone always leaves. 

But she  _ longed _ for someone who wouldn’t leave. And somewhere in her heart, she wanted that person to be Tori, even if she didn’t understand why.

Okay, maybe she shouldn’t cut Tori out of her life. She  _ did _ promise to try to be friends, after all. She decided she’d text Beck when she got home.

They finally pulled into Tori’s driveway. Jade woke Tori up gently.

“What time is it?” Tori groaned.

“12:42,” Jade replied, reading the clock.

“Son of a bitch.”

Jade gasped jokingly. “My, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Tori stuck her tongue out at her playfully. “You’ve heard me cuss before,” she argued.

“Actually, I have not. That was the first time.”

“Whatever. Can’t wait to deal with a cranky Cat.”

Jade laughed. “Your problem, not mine.”

They both leaned to the back seat to wake up Cat, who got up complaining. “Come on, Cat,” Tori said. “We have to finish our project.”

“‘Kay, ‘kay,” Cat replied, still half asleep.

“Once you guys get in the house, I’m gonna dip and go home,” Jade said. Cat walked towards the door like a zombie, rubbing her face. Tori and Jade got out of the car, and Jade handed the keys to Tori. “Don’t hit any helpless old ladies in wheelchairs,” Jade teased.

Tori smiled at her. “I’ll try.”

They both shuffled awkwardly before Jade spoke up. “I should probably get going.”

Tori nodded. “Okay.” As Jade started to turn away, Tori grabbed her arm. “Can I give you a hug?”

Jade froze. “I, uh… oh, fuck it, just don’t tell anyone.”

They hugged for a moment, Tori holding Jade tightly. “Get home safe, okay?” Tori said as they parted. Jade nodded, not trusting her voice. She turned and left.

Jade didn’t let herself think or feel on the way home, so she wouldn’t be preoccupied. The ride home was quick, thankfully, since it was basically 1 AM on a Tuesday, so everyone with a brain was sleeping. She pulled in, went inside, and locked herself in the basement, like usual. Turning on some music so it wouldn’t be so damn _ quiet, _ she pulled out her phone to text Beck.

**Himbim with Hair**

_ Today, 1:09 AM _

**Are you awake?**

**am now. you okay?**

**Can I call you?**

**sure.**

She immediately pressed the call icon. Beck picked up after a moment.

“Hey,” he greeted, voice heavy with sleep.

“Beck. Sorry I woke you up.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s wrong?” His voice was serious, the drowsiness that was there a moment ago gone.

“I… I don’t know. I’m just having a lot of emotions and it’s confusing.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know where to start.”

“Start from wherever is comfortable.”

Jade took a deep breath. “I’m really confused about Tori.”

“Tori? Why?”

“The other day, I talked with her, and we  _ somehow _ agreed to try to be friends.”

“Okay, and how’s that going?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t talked too much yet, but when we do, she’s funny and sweet, and it makes me feel bad that I haven’t noticed how caring she is until now. I mean, she literally talked me into taking her and Cat to this random actress’s house just so Cat could feel better about her being dead. Which she wasn’t. But something about Tori just… She makes me feel safe, but that’s not normal. It usually takes me for forever to feel comfortable with someone, but she’s getting me comfortable right away and it’s scaring the fuck out of me and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Why do you have to  _ do _ anything?” Beck asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, why don’t you just continue to try to be friends? What’s the worst that could happen?”

“The worst that could happen is she ditches me when she finds out how fucked my life is.”

“She wouldn’t do that,” Beck said confidently.

“How do you know?”

“Because she’s Tori.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that she’s got your back, no matter what.” They were quiet for a moment before Beck continued. “I’m not saying you should sit down and tell her your entire life story or anything, Jade, but with how hard she’s fought just for you to be her friend, I’m certain that she’ll be there for you no matter what you throw at her.”

“Okay. Thanks, Beck.”

“Anytime, Jade. You good for the night?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Get some sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Beck hung up. Jade knew she said she would be okay, but she really didn’t want to be alone at the moment. She turned on the TV to the news, and saw the extra about Mona Patterson’s house on fire.

She pulled out her phone.

**Vega**

_ Today, 1:32 AM _

**Did you see the news?????**

**Shhhhh**

**We were never there.**

Jade laughed loudly.

**I’m going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow?**

**Yep. Good night Jade**

**Good night Tori.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jade???? using Tori's FIRST NAME???


	6. Tori Vega Can't Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit short, but you get /Some/ of the content you came for... gay fluff.  
> Congrats. Enjoy

Tori groaned as her alarm woke her and Cat up. She slapped around on her nightstand until she found the off button, then burrowed back into her covers. 

Cat poked her. “My brother said he’s gonna pick me up with the car. Where are the keys?”

“On the nightstand,” Tori mumbled into her pillow, gesturing.

“‘Kay, ‘kay. I’m gonna get dressed and get ready to go.”

Tori groaned again, rolling over to unplug her phone. She saw she had one unread message from last night- it was Jade’s good night message. Tori felt warmth bloom in her chest as she saw that Jade had called her her name instead of just ‘Vega.’

She considered sending a good morning text, but she didn’t know when Jade woke up usually, and didn’t want to risk waking her up, so she decided against it. Instead, she got up and got dressed, then shuffled downstairs for breakfast. 

Cat babbled to her about something silly her brother did as Tori mechanically ate cereal. “Oh, my brother’s here! I’ll see you at school!” Cat chirped, gathering her stuff and dashing out the door. Tori put her head on the table, still half asleep. A moment later, Trina came down the stairs screeching at the top of her lungs and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Tori’s phone buzzed.

**Jade!!!**

_ Today, 7:13 AM _

**Do you need a ride to school today?**

**Trina usually takes me**

**I mean, if you** **_want_ ** **to drive to school**

**with Trina…**

**Good point. Yes please**

**Alright. I’ll be there in five.**

Tori smiled at her phone as Trina plopped down at the table in front of her. “You look happy,” Trina said.

Tori shrugged. “More tired than anything. I only got a handful of hours of sleep last night.”

Trina nodded. “Right, your nerd project. You finished it?”

“Yep.”

“So what has you all smile-y today?”

“Oh, a friend is giving me a ride to school today.”

“Thank God,” Trina said, taking a bite of cereal. “I ‘idn’t wonna ‘ave ‘oo ‘eal with ‘oo ‘eing ‘rumpy.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Trina made a face at her. Tori went back upstairs to gather her things for school when she heard a honk from outside. Tori jogged back downstairs and to the door. “Later, Trina!” she said, slamming the door on anything Trina might’ve said in response. She hopped in the front seat of Jade’s car. “Morning, Jade.”

Jade grunted. “Too early for chirpy behavior, Vega. I’ve only had two cups of coffee this morning. We’re going to the coffee shop.”

“Oh, okay,” Tori replied, still smiling. They drove in silence aside from Jade’s music, and quickly turned into the parking lot of the coffee shop Jade had taken Tori to last time. Tori frowned as she remembered what Jade had said to her last time they were there.

“Vega, you good?”

Tori shook herself free from the memory. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Jade looked unconvinced, but didn’t push. She got out of the car, trailed by Tori. Jade held the door open for Tori, then followed. “Hey, Vanessa!” Jade greeted.

“Hey, Jade! How’s it going?”

Jade shrugged. “Same old, same old. I’m here with… a friend.”

Tori felt warmth bloom in her chest from the admission from Jade, and turned and smiled at her.

“Don’t make it weird, Vega,” Jade snarked, smiling slightly.

Tori turned to the barista. “Hey, Vanessa. Nice to see you again.”

“Hey, Tori. Glad Jade didn’t scare you off last time. The girl needs more friends.”

“Hey!” Jade protested.

Vanessa ignored her. “What can I get for you, Tori?”

“You’re not gonna ask what I want?” Jade whined. 

“You order the same thing every time you’re here. Now be nice or I’ll add cream.”

Jade gasped in horror. Tori laughed. “I’ll have the same thing you made me last time, please. And don’t add cream to her coffee, she’s my ride to school. I’d rather not die this morning.”

“Sure thing. It’s gonna be $8.27.” 

Tori dug through her bag for her wallet, waving Jade away when she stepped forward with her card. “I got it, I got it,” Tori said. 

Jade smiled softly. “Well, if I knew being friends with you would mean free coffee, I’d have been nicer to you earlier.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tori said, handing her card to Vanessa. 

Vanessa handed back the card with a receipt a moment later. “Tori, why don’t you go sit down? I want to talk to Jade about something.”

Tori shrugged. “Okay.” She looked at Jade. “I’ll be over there if you need me?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Jade replied, but it lacked any actual venom, making Tori smile before walked away.

Tori scrolled idly on The Slap as she tried- unsuccessfully- not to eavesdrop.

“Friends, now, huh?” Vanessa said.

Jade sighed. “I knew you’d say something. What does it matter?”

“Nothing, nothing. I’m just happy for you. It’s obvious how much you guys care about each other.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? We’ve been friends for, like, a week. She still has the ability to turn around and stab me in the back. It’s not like we’re getting married or anything,” Jade huffed.

“Jade, everyone has the ability to turn around and stab you in the back. Do you really think Tori would do that to you, though?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t want her to get too close and then-” Jade cut herself off.

“And then?” Vanessa prompted.

“I don’t know. Leave? Vanessa, it’s too early for this. Interrogate me later.”

“Alright, alright. I think Matt is almost done making the coffees, assuming he wasn’t fucking around back there…” Vanessa trailed off as she walked away. Jade sat down in front of Tori.

“Hey,” Tori said softly. 

Jade grunted.

“If this coffee isn’t enough to get you through the day, I’ll buy you a JetBrew at school,” Tori offered. 

Jade looked at her oddly. “Why?” she asked.

Tori shrugged. “A grumpy Jade is never a fun Jade to be around.”

Jade grunted again. Vanessa walked up and handed them their coffees. Jade took it from her and started drinking it immediately. 

“Doesn’t that burn your mouth?” Tori asked.

Jade shrugged. “I’m kinda used to it now, but I’ve never had enough self control to wait until it cooled down. Need the caffeine.”

“Why don’t you drink iced drinks?”

Jade made a face. “The sugar never dissolves correctly, so it always tastes weird. I’d rather burn off my tastebuds.”

Tori laughed, and Jade smiled at her shyly. “How’s your routine for the dance project in gym?” Tori asked.

Jade shrugged. “Fine, I guess. I’m not worried by it.”

Tori winced. “Lucky. I can’t get it, no matter how hard I try.”

Jade snorted. “It’s not that hard, you’ll get it.” She glanced at her phone. “Oh, shit, it’s already almost 8. We should get to school.”

Tori was on a high all day that day. Something about getting coffee with Jade, having Jade call her her friend… she wasn’t sure  _ why _ she felt so happy about it, but she felt the flutter of happiness every time she looked at Jade, and the flutter intensified whenever Jade smirked at her. She chalked it up to elation that she was  _ finally _ friends with Jade, after trying so hard for _so long._

At lunch, she was talkative and spirited, joking around with the group in a way that she hadn’t in a long time. Beck and Andre seemed like they were a bit confused by the change in attitude, but they both welcomed it warmly. Every now and then, Tori would catch Jade watching her with an odd look in her eyes, but Tori just shrugged it off and didn’t question it. 

Nothing could ruin her mood, not even the stupid dance section of gym class. She practiced the routine with the class, like always, but felt better about it than she had in awhile. Or at least, she  _ did. _

The bell rang, and she got ready to go to the locker room when Coach Holland called her aside.

“Hi, Tori, how are you?” she asked.

“I’m pretty good, coach, how are you?”

“I’m good. I just wanted to talk to you about the routine we’ve been working on. You know that the test is on Friday?”

“Yeah, I’ve been working really hard on it.”

“I can tell. You’ve definitely improved.” Coach paused for a moment. “Listen, Tori, I’m just trying to look out for you. You’ve always made A’s in this class, but your dancing… it needs work. I’m not worried about you passing, because it’s an automatic pass if you hit all the steps, but I’m not going to be able to give you an A with where the dance is at right now.”

Tori frowned. “I understand. I’ll keep working on it.”

“Good to hear. Have a nice day, Tori,” she said.

“Thanks, Coach, you too.” Tori went to the locker room silently, and changed, trying to figure out where she could practice during study hall. She decided to see if the black box was empty.

Thankfully, when she got there, the students who were using it were wrapping up and trickling out. She put her earbuds in and began practicing. She went through the routine three times before she noticed that she wasn’t alone.

Jade sat in the front row of the audience. The rest of the black box was empty aside from the two of them, but Tori shrieked in surprise anyways, ripping her earbuds out. “Jade! What are you doing here?”

Jade shrugged. “You didn’t meet up with the rest of the group, and Robbie was starting to annoy me, so I decided to go looking for you.” She paused. “I thought you were kidding when you said you needed to work on the routine.”

Tori flushed, embarrassed that Jade had seen her struggling with such a simple dance. “I wasn’t kidding. I need to practice, and you’re kinda distracting me.” Jade didn’t move, so Tori sighed, putting her earbuds back in. Maybe having an audience would help her do better.

Or not. Tori lost her balance on one of the turns that’s been messing her up the entire time. She cursed as she started over. When she got to the turn, she almost had it, but lost her balance at the last second. She looked at Jade, who was chuckling. She pulled out her earbuds again. “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

Jade laughed. “You. You’re getting so worked up over this dance.” She got up and walked towards Tori. “Relax. Let’s go over it together.” Tori placed her phone down as Jade pulled a bluetooth speaker out of her backpack and started playing the music. Jade counted off, and Tori followed her movements, well, up until the turn again, but she recovered and tried to continue. Emphasis on  _ tried.  _ She ended up just getting distracted by how  _ good _ Jade looked while dancing. She made it look effortless. Jade looked at her after the routine ended. “Again?”

“Please,” Tori said, breathing hard.

This time, instead of focusing on Jade, she closed her eyes and counted in her head. When she went for the turn, she felt hands on her hips, causing her to flinch out of her headspace. She opened her eyes, and looked to see Jade standing before her. 

“You need to spot when you turn. But even before you do that, you need to shift your weight this way,” she said softly, pushing Tori’s hips until she shifted her weight slightly. “Good. Now turn your head to the left until you’re looking at me.” Tori did so. “Now try.” Tori did the turn without losing her balance. She smiled at Jade, who looked at her with a hint of pride in her eyes. “Now do it again.” Tori did, turning to look at Jade, but overshot, and ended up tumbling into Jade, who caught her gracefully. Their faces were so close together that Tori could feel the tickles of Jade’s breath on her cheeks. Tori was frozen, caught in a trance as she stared at Jade, eyes wide.

Jade swallowed hard, then pushed Tori off of her so that Tori could stand. “It was a good try,” Jade said roughly. “Not so much power, though.” She cleared her throat. “I think you’ve got it. I’m gonna go home early.” 

“Oh, okay,” Tori said. She grabbed her water bottle and tried to swallow the disappointment with gulps of water. Jade left the black box without another word, leaving Tori alone. 

She ran the dance a couple more times, finally getting the turns right, and she wished Jade were there to see that she could do it. She sat down in the middle of the stage, feeling dejected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhhh i wrote this chapter A While Ago but I remember how much I loved writing it. I'm living my best life.  
> Also I'm sorry I never reply to the comments, but I do read each one (more times than I should) and it genuinely gives me so much life. I appreciate each and every one of you! Commenter, Kudo-er, or just Reader- I see you, and I sincerely hope that my writing lives up to whatever you're looking for.  
> See you Next Thursday (unless I decide to start posting bi-weekly because I'm currently writing chapter 11 but You Heard Nothing shhhhhhhh)


	7. It Gets Worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've decided that since the story is gaining some traction (and i've written so far ahead) that I'll start updating Mondays AND Thrusdays. Yay.  
> Not sure how long I'll be able to do this for, but I am writing A Lot, so it should be fine.  
> Anyhoo, enjoy!

Jade cursed as she practically ran to her car, brushing past Robbie, Cat, and Andre as they tried to ask her about something.

God damn Tori Vega. She has no idea what that shit in the black box was, but she knows she doesn’t want to repeat it. She should’ve just let Tori fall.

She hit her steering wheel, cursing again. She couldn’t keep doing this stupid back and forth with Vega, being  _ nice, _ being friends. Tori was breaking down every wall she had without even trying. At this rate, she was going to start finding out about Jade’s fucked up home life, look at her own perfect family and nope the fuck out of Jade’s life. But how was Jade supposed to keep her at an arm’s length if Tori was so adamant about being friends?

She could go back to being cold to Tori, if it really came down to it. She didn’t want to, but she could.

And the way that things were going, she’d probably have to.

Jade avoided Tori for the rest of the week. She ate lunch in her car, she ignored Tori’s texts, even practically ran the other way whenever Tori tried to talk to her, all in hopes that she would take a hint and leave her alone.

She didn’t.

During the test on Friday, Jade watched Tori execute the dance near perfectly- the turn was obviously not an issue for her anymore. But when Tori tried to catch her eye, she looked at her phone, and tried to ignore the hollow feeling in her chest.

It was for the best.

But, come Monday, Sikowitz had to go and ruin everything, in the usual Sikowitz manner.

After some stupid activity with Cat and Robbie singing about running over a go-kart, which was somewhat amusing, a crying kid, which was kind of funny, and Sikowitz thinking it was a raccoon, which was funnier, Sikowitz talked about the next play he was putting on. He decided that to avoid fighting, he’d have all of them draw their roles from a box.

“Nancy, loving wife of astronaut Walter Swain,” Jade read from the card. She wasn’t thrilled, but at least it was a lead.

She watched as Sikowitz skipped Robbie- which was funny- and stop at Tori- which was less funny. Tori reached in the box.

“Astronaut Walter Swain,” she started confidently, then fell into an uneasy mumble, “husband of Nancy.” Tori turned to look at Jade, apprehensive. 

“I’m supposed to play  _ her _ wife?” Jade snapped, fuming. 

God damn Vega. God damn Sikowitz! He always manages to put her in an uncomfortable position. 

“I’ll just pick another card,” Tori said nervously, reaching for the box that Sikowitz dragged out of reach.

“No!” Sikowitz said. “My box has spoken!”

Jade sat back in her chair, sulking, as she watched a raccoon climb out of the go-kart box.

Well, at least it wasn’t a  _ horrible _ day. Not ideal, but still.

Jade  _ literally _ ran into Tori during the passing period. As the girl’s righted themselves, Jade prepared to say something to Tori- maybe apologize for bumping into her, maybe apologize for being a gank- but Tori looked like she didn’t want to see Jade, much less talk to her, and something about that pissed Jade off. Or did it hurt her? One can never be sure what they’re feeling. Jade just knew that it made her feel defensive, and she hated feeling defensive. So instead of saying something nice- even though she doesn’t do nice- Jade said the first thing that came to mind.

“I don’t want to be your wife in the play.”

Stupid,  _ stupid! _ Why did she say that, of all things?

Hurt flashed in Tori’s eyes before settling into grim determination. 

“Well, I don’t want to be your husband in the play,” Tori said.

“Oh,” Jade said slowly, turning to walk away. At least she knew Tori had given up the dumb charade of being friends. Makes things easier.

She heard the click of Tori’s boots fade away from her, and she allowed the hurt to register. 

She  _ tried, _ right? It’s not her fault that they’re better off not being friends. She said she’d try, and she did, so why did she feel so bad?

* * *

First week of rehearsals went smoothly, if you could say that.

Well, they definitely could’ve been worse.

Every scene with Jade was stiff and awkward for Tori, who wasn’t sure where the line on their friendship was anymore. Jade wouldn’t talk to her, and she stopped trying to get Jade to text her back days ago. Sikowitz seemed unimpressed with their scenes, but never gave any specific notes, aside from adjusting the blocking so that Walter-Tori would fall asleep on Nancy-Jade. It was always an uncomfortable experience, considering Nancy-Jade would immediately start pushing Walter-Tori off of her, obviously not wanting to be touched. But they continued, they rehearsed, and it was going fine-ish.

Until Sikowitz decided it wasn’t.

“I love you,” Walter-Tori said, clumsily punching her chin in a… friendly way?

“I love you,” Nancy-Jade replied, the fact that she would rather be anywhere other than here obvious in her voice.

“No, you don’t!” Sikowitz yelled, standing up. After reprimanding them for not playing a believable husband and wife- which, how was that Tori’s fault? She was trying, Jade was the one who wasn’t cooperating- he told them to meet him at Nozu this evening. He left before they could even actually protest.

Tori looked at Jade, who stared at her, boiling with anger. “I don’t want to go to Nozu,” Jade spat.

Tori sighed. “Neither do I, but Sikowitz said so. I guess I’ll see you at 7.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Jade said, walking away. She threw her apron over her shoulder on the way out.

Tori sipped her green tea anxiously when Sikowitz jumped and yelled behind her, causing her to spill tea  _ everywhere. _

“I hate it when you do that!” Tori yelled as she tried to mop up the mess with her napkin.

“I know, everybody does,” Sikowitz laughed, sitting down next to her. “Oh, there’s Jade. JADE!” Tori felt anxiety rise in her just seeing Jade walk towards them. She looked  _ pissed _ . “What’s this dark little beverage?” Sikowitz asked, sipping from the small glass vase.

“Um… soy sauce,” Tori said, horrified.

Sikowitz hummed and drained the rest of the vase.

“Okay, I’m here,” Jade said, sitting down next to Tori. “Why?”

“Because you two need to play a husband and wife believably,” Sikowitz said.

“What does that have to do with sushi?” Tori groaned.

“Listen, I once did a show where I had to play a man in great pain. So to prepare, I threw myself down a flight of stairs. You wouldn’t believe how many times I hit my head,” Sikowitz said.

Tori looked at Jade, who was snickering. “Yeah, we would,” Jade said.

“We really, really would,” Tori agreed, trying not to laugh.

Sikowitz ignored their comments. “Now, to prepare for your roles, you two must date.”

“What?” Jade hissed. Tori flushed, looking at the table.

“So, have fun,” Sikowitz continued, standing up.

“With what?” Tori asked.

“Your date.”

“What date?” Jade asked, sounding frantic.

“This one,” Sikowitz responded, pointing at the two of them. “It begins now, at 7:12 PM. You two will stay here, eat, drink, chat, and giggle until the restaurant closes, at midnight.”

“Forget it, I’m leaving,” Jade huffed, grabbing her stuff.

“Yep, me too,” Tori agreed.

“Ah! If either of you leave before midnight, you both get an F for the semester,” Sikowitz threatened. Tori gasped.

Jade leaned towards Tori. “It’s fine,” she whispered. “He’s not gonna know when we leave.”

Sikowitz cleared his throat. “Oh, yes he gonna!” He imitated. “I have two spies watching you. Sinjin-” he pointed across the restaurant to Sinjin watching them with a pair of binoculars, “and Burf.” Burf poked his head out from the door to the women’s bathroom, also holding a pair of binoculars. He took a bite from a raw bell pepper. “Happy dating,” Sikowitz said before walking away. 

Tori and Jade sat back down next to each other. 

“Excuse me?” Tori said to get the attention of the waiter. “Yeah, my date and I were wondering if you have a flight of stairs we could throw ourselves down?”

Jade snorted as the waiter gave them an odd look and turned back around.

“Is this even legal?” Tori mumbled as she sipped her green tea.

“Probably not. But I’d rather not make this more painful by talking, if that’s alright with you,” Jade said abrasively.

Tori sighed. “I guess,” she said quietly. The waiter came by to take their orders. After he left, Tori broke the silence. “Wait, Jade-”

Jade groaned, putting her head on the table. “Do you  _ have _ to talk?”

Tori huffed. “Yes, I do. I have a question.”

“Out with it, then,” Jade mumbled.

“What did I do?”

“Do?” Jade looked at Tori, confused.

Tori shrugged. “It seemed like we were getting along for a while, and then you just… ghosted me.”

Jade snorted. “It only counts as ghosting if we were dating.”

“That’s not true, it’s the same thing!”

“Whatever, Vega. Why does it matter?”

“I don’t know, I was just curious.”

“Aw, did I hurt Sweet-Sally Peaches’s feelings?” Jade said snidely. 

“What is your problem?”

“My problem is that you keep-” Jade cut herself off and cursed quietly. “Just drop it.”

“No,” Tori said stubbornly. “Tell me what I keep doing.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jade mumbled, putting her face in her hands. “Why do you care so much?”

“I guess I’m just hurt, Jade. I thought we were actually friends for a little bit there, and I just want to know what I did to screw it up.”

Jade laughed humorlessly. “You didn’t do anything. It was all me.”

“Yeah, okay, ‘it’s not you it’s me’ spiel. Sure.” Tori sipped her green tea, feeling tears prick her eyes.

“It is me, Tori! I just-” she took a breath. “My life is really fucked up. You don’t want to be around me.”

“Kinda selfish of you to make that decision for me, don’t you think?”

Jade groaned against the table again.

They got their food at that moment, and began eating silently. 

Or, mostly silently. Tori was frustrated beyond hell, so she began obnoxiously slurping her soup. 

After a couple of slurps, Jade snapped. “NO!”

Making eye contact with her, Tori slurped her soup one more time, just for good measure.

“Worst night ever,” Jade mumbled. 

“Oh, you think I’m having fun on this date?” Tori said. “Because I’m not.”

“Then let’s not talk!” Jade snapped.

“Fine!” Tori shot back. “You know-”

Jade made a horribly loud whining noise. 

“There is no good reason why you and I shouldn’t be able to sit here together and have a conversation.”

“I got a good reason,” Jade replied.

“Which is?”

“I don’t like you!” she snapped.

Tori flinched. “Really?” she responded, hiding the hurt she felt. “You can’t think of one thing that you like about me?”

“I like when you’re sad,” Jade replied.

Tori felt the hurt register on her face, and the look in Jade’s eyes showed that she knew she had crossed a line.

“Okay,” Tori said, taking a steadying breath, willing the tears pricking her eyes to go away. “Try again. Reach deep down into your twisted, bitter soul, and see if you can find anything nice to say about me.”

Jade sighed. “Your singing… isn’t awful?”

“Thanks so much,” Tori said sarcastically.

“Now let’s hear you say something nice about me,” Jade said, frustrated.

“I admire how you’re never afraid to say what you think,” Tori said without missing a beat.

Jade blinked. “Oh.” After a moment, she said, “That’s stupid.”

“See?” Tori replied. “Now, your turn again.”

“I guess… some people might say that… from certain angles, you’re pretty,” Jade said slowly. Tori smiled at her softly. “You could say I’m pretty!” Jade snapped, looking away quickly.

“You are pretty,” Tori replied, sounding genuine. Jade looked at her, and Tori smiled again, looking away. 

“Ugh,” Jade groaned. “Dude-bros coming our way. Three o’clock.”

The two dude-bros stood on either side of them. “Uh-oh!” Guy Number 1 said. “Babe sandwich!” They pushed them together, cheering.

“And this night actually gets worse!” Jade said angrily.

“Guys?” Tori said sweetly. “We really wanna hang out alone.”

“We  _ are _ alone,” Guy Number 2 said.

“Just the four of us!” Guy Number 1 followed up. They did a horrible fist bump in front of them.

“Oh, my god,” Jade and Tori mumbled at the same time.

“So, Dr. Chad,” Guy Number 1 said. “How’s the patient look?”

“Well,” Guy Number 2- ‘Dr. Chad’- started. “Looks like she’s got a Chad Infection.”

Guy Number 1 gasped. “Ain’t no cure for a Chad Infection!”

“Guess you’re stuck with me!” Guy Number 2 said to Tori.

They did the horrible fist bump. Again.

Tori tried to tune them out as Guy Number 1 started attempting to flirt with Jade, but it was not going well. Tori turned to watch when Guy Number 1 started making a horrible sound. She tried not to laugh as he attempted to tickle Jade.

“Are you ticklish?” he asked, doing it again. Jade looked straight ahead, no emotion on her face, not reacting at all, until-

_ Yikes. _ Jade elbowed Guy Number 1 in the gut- or maybe the crotch?-  _ hard. _

Guy Number 1 was on the ground. Points were 1-0 for Jade and dude-bro.

Guy Number 2 tried to recover for him. “C’mon, can I buy you a soda?”

Tori looked at him, smiled, batting her eyes. “No.”

Guy Number 1 got up- kudos to him for having the guts. “So,” he said tightly. “Where do you go to school?”

“Hollywood Arts,” Jade said flatly.

Both dude-bros cheered. “Hey, I bet we got us a couple of songbirds here, huh?” said Guy Number 2. They both started bombarding them with requests for a song, sounding completely stupid while doing it. 

Jade looked at Tori slyly. “They wanna hear ‘a little songy-song action.’” she mocked. 

Tori smiled. “Okay, we’ll sing you a song.”

Jade and Tori walked up to the DJ. 

“Hey, DJ!” Tori said.

“Your break’s over,” Jade snapped.

“What do you guys wanna sing?” he asked.

Tori looked at the list, then tapped Jade when she found a good one. Jade nodded approvingly. “T305,” Tori said brightly.

Thankfully, the dude-bros all but ran for the door with their tails tucked after the song. Tori and Jade sat down, laughing.

“I think that counts as a win,” Tori said.

“Definitely made my night better,” Jade agreed. “Nice job, Vega.”

Tori swallowed hard. “Please. I barely did anything, it was all you. When you pushed him he looked like he was gonna wazz himself.”

“Good.” Tori caught herself soaking in Jade’s demeanor- she was smiling softly at her noodles, looking like she felt very proud of herself. “Why’re you staring at me like a creep, Vega?” Jade said, flashing a grin her way.

Tori felt herself go red, much to Jade’s amusement. “I was- I was just-”

“I, I, I,” Jade mocked, making Tori laugh.

“I just don’t know when I’ll get to see you this happy again, so I’m… making sure I remember what you look like,” Tori said quietly, looking down.

Jade sighed. “Look, Vega-”

“No, no, I get it. It’s fine. You said you’d try to be friends with me, and you did. It’s not-” Tori swallowed down the lump in her throat as tears pricked her eyes. “It’s not your fault. Sometimes being friends doesn’t work out.”

“Fuck, Vega, don’t cry,” Jade said softly. After a moment of Tori breathing shakily, Jade hesitantly grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it. “I’m… I’m not good at being friends with people. I’m not nice, and my life is so fucked up that I… I end up ruining a lot of stuff. But if you really want to be friends so bad that you’re willing to cry into your miso soup over it-” Tori laughed slightly at that. “Then I’m willing to keep trying. Mostly because miso soup is salty enough that it doesn’t need your tears.”

Tori squeezed Jade’s hand. “I appreciate it, Jade, but really, you don’t have to-”

“I already said I’m going to,” Jade interrupted. “But don’t get hurt every time I disappear. It’s just… a me thing, I guess.”

Tori looked at Jade. “Then try not to disappear on me. I’m here to support you.”

Jade looked away, clearing her throat uncomfortably. “Eat your extra-salty miso soup.”


	8. You Dropped Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 8 Conga Rats on being so Patient. Enjoy.  
> TW minor injury in the chapter also my cat is currently biting my foot h e l p

“Vega.”

“Hm?” Tori looked up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“The restaurant is closing. You fell asleep.”

“I fell asleep? Oh shit!” Tori ripped her phone out of her pocket, fully awake. “Shit, shit, shit!” Phone to her ear. “Voicemail. Great!” 

“Dude, what's the issue?”

“I forgot to call Trina earlier to see if she could pick me up. I didn’t think I’d be staying here until the place  _ closed,  _ so I took the bus here.”

“Oh. Are the busses still running?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” She looked at her phone. “There’s one more before they shut off for the night. If I hurry up and pay, I can probably catch it.” 

Jade snorted.

“What?” Tori groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Out we go, Sweet Sally Peaches. I already paid.”

“You- why?”

“Probably ‘cause you were drooling on the counter,” she snickered. Tori’s hand slapped onto her mouth, wiping away anything that still might be there. “Seriously, though, out we go. Mrs. Lee is looking like she wants to kill me.”

Tori huffed, sliding off of the chair. “She can’t kill you if I do it first.”

“I’m sorry,  _ what?” _ Jade guffawed. 

“You heard me,” Tori snickered. “Your fault for waking me up.”

“Wow, either Sweet Sally Peaches is a grump, or she has a mean streak!” Jade peered at Tori. “I am serious though. We have to go. Even Sinjin and Burf left.”

As they walked outside, Tori yawned and wrapped her arms around herself. 

“It’s cold outside,” she groaned.

“How is that my problem?” 

Tori shrugged. With a sigh, Jade took off her jacket and handed it to Tori. She accepted the jacket tentatively, not expecting that reaction.

“I’ll drive you home. It’s too cold to be walking anywhere. Not to mention all the weirdos are out and about right now.”

Tori hummed in response. 

After Jade started her car, she turned the heat on. Tori rested her head against the window, dozing off. After a moment, she shifted so she was leaning on Jade’s shoulder, causing her to stiffen momentarily at the unexpected contact. 

Within moments they were in the driveway of Tori’s house. 

“Vega. We’re at your place. Wake up.” Jade shook her gently, causing her to mumble in protest. “I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I don’t want you to go,” Tori whined.

“Well, uh- why not?”

“I feel safe with you.”

“I… okay, out, get out, you need to get to bed. Did you hit your head?”

Tori giggled. Jade would be lying if she said she didn’t feel warm from the sound.

“Will you stay the night?”

“Wow, Vega, only one date and you’re already asking me to sleep with you?”

“That is absolutely not what I meant and you know it.”

“I know, I know. I’m teasing.”

“So yes spend the night?”

“Well I gotta get my jacket back somehow, don’t I?” Jade reached into the center console and took out a bottle of pills. 

“Uh… Jade?” Tori said when the goth popped one in her mouth.

“Prescription. Beck talked me into talking to a psychiatrist about two months ago.”

“Oh. That’s… great?”

“Mhm. These ones are for sleep. I also have a couple that I take in the morning.”

Tori handed Jade her jacket once they made it up to her room. “Do you want some PJ’s? We’re like-“ a yawn broke the sentence. “Like the same size, right?”

Jade snorted. “Not for shirts, we’re not. It’s fine, just pass me a pair of pants.” 

“‘Kay,” Tori said, tossing her a pair of pajamas. “There's a bathroom down the hall-“ she started to say, but turned to see Jade already changing.

“Oh, did you want me to go change in there? I just figured that you’ve seen me change in the dressing rooms at school before, so…”

Tori looked away, cheeks flushed. “No, you’re fine. I don’t mind. I’m gonna get into bed then.”

They settled into the bed, laying so they weren’t touching. Jade stared at the ceiling.

“Thank you for taking care of me tonight, Jade.”

“All I did was drive you home, though?”

“It was nice of you.”

“Sure, Vega. Go to sleep.”

Jade woke up to the sun streaming through the blinds, and a still sleeping Vega snuggled against her arm. Logically, she knew she should’ve extracted herself from Tori’s hold, but something in her made her stay and wrap her arms around Tori, savoring the warmth and the feeling of being loved.

She woke up again to an empty bed. She dragged herself up, out of the room, and downstairs, to find Tori in the kitchen.

“Good morning!” Tori greeted her. Jade grunted, rubbing her eyes. “I made you a coffee,” she continued, gesturing to the table with the spatula. “No cream, two sugars. And I’m making pancakes! You want any?”

“Sure,” Jade said, walking to the table and wrapping her hands around the mug. She took a sip tentatively- it definitely had two sugars, but the coffee was not good quality. She made a face, but kept drinking it.

“How bad is it?” Tori asked over her shoulder, flipping a pancake.

“Not as bad as I thought it’d be.”

Tori hummed. “My dad is the only one who drinks coffee in the house, but he always buys the cheap stuff, so sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I appreciate it.”

Jade drank her coffee as Tori hummed a song- probably something that was on the radio. She turned around with two plates, both with three pancakes on them- she had put two small blobs of butter and a smile in syrup on them both. Jade tried not to laugh at how cheesy it was.

Something about the entire setting- waking up in Tori’s house, getting breakfast  _ and _ coffee, exactly how she always drinks it- felt very domestic, and while that would normally put her off, she felt safe and comfortable.

It’s been a long time since she’s ever felt this calm.

She dug into the pancakes gratefully, eating them quickly even though they were undercooked.

Tori took a bite of her own pancakes and made a face. “Sorry. I didn’t realize they weren’t done yet.”

Jade shrugged. “It was a nice gesture. I don’t like having to make breakfast for myself all the time, plus if I cook anything, I always have to cook some for my brother, too, so mine is usually cold.”

Tori hummed. “How’s your brother doing, by the way?”

“He’s… fine,” Jade said slowly.

“Are you… still worried about him?”

“Yeah,” Jade admitted. “He’s a sweet kid, but he doesn’t really know how to deal with his emotions yet.”

“If he’s having issues, you could always see about enrolling him in therapy or something. Might help.”

Jade shrugged. “I’ll look into it.” They were quiet for a moment. “I didn’t think you’d remember me worrying about him.”

Tori blushed. “I do actually care about what you’re going through, Jade. Even if I’m not the best at… being supportive.”

Jade took another sip of her coffee, which was, unfortunately, cooling off quickly. “It doesn’t matter. You’re trying now, which is an improvement.” She stood up. “I’ll be back, I have to go grab my medicine from the car.”

Once outside, Jade took a deep breath. As safe as she felt with Tori, she knew it wouldn’t last. She knew that Tori couldn’t protect her from the horrors of her day to day life, even if she decided she wanted to. For a moment, anxiety about her father rose up, but she quickly crushed it. He doesn’t have any jurisdiction over her friends. She wouldn’t let him.

Besides, as comfortable as she already was with Tori, they were only friends. New friends, at that. There was no guarantee that Tori would stick around for very long. 

But she had to admit that this morning had left some feeling in her that wasn’t there before. She couldn’t identify it, but it was definitely there. 

She went to her car and grabbed her medicine before walking back into the house. Tori was washing the dishes, humming again.

Smiling to herself, Jade closed the door as quietly as possible, and creeped behind Tori.

“BOO!” She yelled.

Tori shrieked, turning around and dropping the cup she was holding, which landed directly on her foot, shattering on contact.

“Oh, mother goddamn trucking Jesus on a tricycle!” Tori shouted, lifting her foot.

“You dropped something,” Jade started saying out of habit, but trailed off as she went, frozen.  _ “Oh,” _ she whispered.

“Yeah, thanks,” Tori said, gritting her teeth. She looked at the ground. “Yikes.”

“Holy shit,” Jade said.

They both stared at the mess of broken glass on the floor.

“I… uh…” Jade started. “Let me help you to the table.”

“Gee, thanks,” Tori said sarcastically, but accepted the help. Jade gingerly led Tori through the glass, holding her up whenever she put weight on her injured foot. Tori sat down with a sigh of relief.

“Do you have a broom somewhere? I’ll clean up the mess,” Jade offered.

“Yeah, it’s in the pantry,” Tori said. Jade nodded. She went and found the broom, then cleaned up the glass, turning off the sink in the process. After she was done, she started opening cabinets and drawers, much to Tori’s confusion. “Uh, Jade?” 

“I’m looking for your medicine cabinet. For your foot.”

“Oh. It’s all the way to the right.”

Jade went to the cabinet and pulled out a first aid kit, then grabbed a bunch of paper towels. She walked back to Tori, kneeling down in front of her. She began gently wiping the blood away, causing Tori to whimper in protest. Jade sucked in a breath. “I think you have some glass pieces in your foot. I’m gonna have to take them out with tweezers,” Jade said softly. Tori nodded. Jade pulled out the tweezers from the first aid kit, then wiped them down with an alcohol wipe. Tori squeaked a bit whenever the tweezers made contact, but didn’t move.

“I’m surprised you’re not like… crying your eyes out,” Jade said.

“Definitely close to it, but I’ve handled worse. Almost done?” Tori said tersely. 

“Almost. You’re doing great.” Jade placed the small glass shards on a piece of paper towel to her side. “Here, I think this is the last one,” she said after a moment. She dug it out, dropping it to the side. “Okay, I’m gonna clean all of it now. Ready?”

Tori nodded.

Jade resumed trying to wipe away all the blood, which was coming out a lot slower now, thankfully. Placing the paper towels to the side, Jade started rummaging in the first aid kit for a moment, then pulled out a tube of neosporin. Gently, she started smearing it on all the open cuts on Tori’s foot. She took a moment to assess her work, then started placing cotton pads over them before beginning to wrap Tori’s foot in an ace bandage. As she finished, she glanced up at Tori, who was watching her with wide eyes. They held eye contact for a moment as time seemed to freeze for Jade.

Jade felt like she wasn’t quite in control of herself as she rose, leaning closer to Tori. Tori’s eyes flicked down to Jade’s lips for just a moment as Jade pressed her forehead to Tori’s. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt,” Jade murmured.

Tori swallowed hard. “I know. It’s okay.” Her hand came to touch Jade’s cheek, causing her to flinch. 

She backed away quickly and cleared her throat. “Your foot should be okay. I’m gonna… uh… Let me help you up to your room. Just stay off your feet today.”

Tori nodded. Jade helped her up, and they started slowly making their way to Tori’s room. Tori had to hop up the stairs on one foot, more for Jade’s benefit than her own, though, because every time she put her foot down, Jade would reprimand her for it. Jade helped Tori onto the bed.

“Okay… so we need to keep it elevated, I think, and um… I’ll go get you some ice,” Jade said softly, walking out of the room quickly.

Once downstairs, Jade took a deep breath. She couldn’t figure out what the fuck had just happened, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

She went to the freezer to grab ice when she noticed that there was still blood on the floor. Huffing, she got out another alcohol wipe and began scrubbing the drying blood out of the tiles. After she was sure she was done, she grabbed the ice and went back upstairs.

“What took so long?” Tori asked, propping herself up.

“Had to finish cleaning,” Jade said, handing the ice to Tori. 

“Thanks,” Tori said, putting the ice on her foot. She laid back down.

“I should probably get going…”

“You can stay if you want. We can put on some movies or something,” Tori said.

“You sure?” Jade asked hesitantly.

“Sure, I am! I’m gonna be bored out of my mind otherwise, seeing as Dr. Jade said I have to stay in bed,” Tori teased. Jade smiled lightly.

“Okay, but I’m picking the movies.”

They positioned themselves on Tori’s bed, separated by a laptop. Tori went to WebFlix to stream movies. Jade decided on ‘The Conjuring’ so Tori wouldn’t be scared out of her mind, but Jade could still enjoy a decent horror movie.

Or so she thought. Tori would hide under the covers anytime something remotely interesting happened, whimpering like a frightened child. “Quit it, you big baby,” Jade teased. “You’re being distracting by turtling under the blankets every five seconds.”

“It’s not my fault, you’re the one who put on a scary movie!” Tori protested, peeking out from the blanket.

Jade laughed. “It’s not even that scary. She’s only a little possessed.”

_ “Only a little possessed,” _ Tori mimicked, hiding back under the covers for a moment. To Tori’s credit, she came out from under the covers, but pushed herself so that she was gripping Jade’s arm like it was a teddy bear. Tori squeaked when the doll turned around, but said “Hi, welcome to Chili’s,” instead of hiding. Jade laughed.

“See? Not that scary,” Jade said.

“To you,” Tori said, tucking her head into Jade’s shoulder. “If I have nightmares tonight, it’s your fault.”

“You’re such a chicken,” Jade teased, poking Tori. “Am I gonna have to check under your bed for monsters?”

“And the closet. Possibly the shower as well.” Tori peeked at the screen before hiding again. “Can we watch something less scary next?”

Jade snorted. “Sure, Vega. I’ll pick one of the ‘Scooby-Doo’ movies.”

“Really?” Tori said, perking up. “I love those movies!” Jade laughed. “Don’t laugh at me, they’re good!”

“They’re trash. But if you really wanna watch them that bad, then I’ll put it on next.”

“You’re the best,” Tori murmured, snuggling back into Jade.

“You’re just saying that because you’re getting your way.”

“Maybe,” Tori admitted. “Or maybe it’s because you’re actually really awesome.”

Jade blushed. “Shut up and watch the movie, Vega.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jade, at Tori's house: Gee, I sure hope this doesn't awaken anything in me


	9. The Addams Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning and happy Monday! I haven't been getting as much writing done as I would like but I still have a bit pre-written so we should be fine. Anyways, enjoy!

Tori felt a pang in her chest as Jade left that night, after making Tori promise to stay off her foot as much as possible. Jade would never admit it, but it was obvious that she felt bad about injuring Tori, even if it was an accident. 

Regardless, Tori left lonelier than she ever had in her empty house that night, and she found herself wishing that Jade could’ve stayed one more night, just so Tori wouldn’t have to be alone. But Tori knew that Jade had a brother to go home to, maybe even her dad was in town. It wasn’t fair of her to ask Jade to stay, so she didn’t.

She slept fitfully that night, and the next day, found herself bored to tears. Since she wasn’t supposed to move around because of her foot, she ended up loading up WebFlix and trying to watch older, less scary horror movies. After a while of scrolling, she found what she thought would be the perfect one. She clicked on it and almost immediately regretted her decision.

The acting was  _ bad. _ She laughed at all the serious parts, and the amount of gore was so unrealistic that she couldn’t do anything more than cringe and laugh some more. After the movie ended, she decided to text Jade.

**Jade!!!**

_ Today, 2:23 PM _

**Guess who successfully watched a**

**horror movie without hiding?**

**Was it Cat?**

**It was not.**

**It was me! I did it!**

**Cat still seems more realistic.**

**Gee, thanks**

**What movie?**

**“An American Werewolf in London”**

Jade didn’t respond for a few minutes.

**Tori, that movie is awful.**

**I know. I watched it.**

**No like, not even a baby**

**would be scared by that shit.**

**It’s horrible.**

**:(**

**I was looking at older horror movies**

**because they’re not as scary**

**Of course you were.**

**Watch the original IT. It’s**

**not as scary as the remake.**

**Have fun.**

Still bored, and feeling braver than she should’ve been because of her success with the last movie, Tori decided to risk it. And,  _ boy, _ did she regret that decision.

_ Today, 5:34 PM _

**I hate you so much.**

**You thought it was scary????**

**Not as much as The Conjuring.**

**But I still don’t like it.**

**It’s a classic, you fraidy-cat.**

**You’ll survive.**

**Just don’t go near gutters.**

**Ha ha, very funny. D: <**

**Hey, The Addams Family is coming**

**up in my suggested. What do you think?**

**Have you never seen The Addams**

**Family before??????**

**Nope.**

**Don’t you dare start watching it.**

**I’ll be there in 15.**

True to her word, Jade was there 15 minutes later. Tori hobbled down the stairs to open the door for her.

“What did I say about walking?” she scolded as she walked through the door. 

“Well, how else was I supposed to let you in?” Tori retorted. 

“Yeah, yeah, hush. It’s Addams Family Time. I brought snacks,” Jade said, opening her bag to reveal three bags of unpopped microwave popcorn, candy, and a couple bags of yogurt covered animal crackers. “Now up to your room we go! Get a move on, Vega!” Jade guided Tori back to her own room by wrapping one of her arms around Tori’s midsection. Tori blushed, and prayed that Jade wouldn’t notice.

Jade didn’t say anything until Tori sat down on her bed. “You’re really red. You okay?” she asked.

Tori cleared her throat. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I just- uh, my foot,” she responded.

Jade looked unconvinced, but didn’t push. She started making herself comfortable on the bed. “Come on, Addams Family time!” she urged when she saw that Tori hadn’t even started moving yet. Tori laughed, then got comfortable, and put on the movie.

Within seconds, she was confused. “Wait, why are they talking about his brother-”

Jade shushed her.

“Is that a crossbow? Jesus Christ!”

“Hush, Vega, I’m trying to watch the movie!”

“Is she dead?”

“No, she’s not. Now shut up before I smother you with a pillow.” Tori huffed, crossing her arms and pouting. Jade looked at her after a moment. “What’s wrong?”

Tori stuck out her tongue instead of responding.

“Oh, quit it you big baby, and watch the movie. It’s iconic. Amazing cinematography for it’s time, an amazing story,” Jade sighed dreamily, looking at the screen. “And it’s always nice seeing my gay awakening again.”

Tori choked. “Your gay awakening?” she repeated.

“You heard me. Now watch the movie.”

“I thought you dated Beck-”

“Movie.”

“But-”

“Nuh-uh, you invited me over to watch Addams Family, so we’re watching Addams Family.”

“You invited yourself!” Tori protested, shoving Jade playfully.

“Same difference. Now come here so I can make sure you see the important parts.” Jade wrapped her arms around Tori, pulling her close. Tori froze, blushing. “See? Better. Now you’re not even fighting it. Now watch.”

After a moment, Tori let herself relax. She admitted that it was a good movie, but it was hard to focus with Jade holding her, and saying the lines along with the movie. Tori soon gave up on paying attention to the movie and turned her attention to Jade instead, who was still holding her, though not as tightly. She snuggled into Jade’s side, and felt Jade adjust herself, but she was still focusing on the movie intensely.

It was cute, Tori decided, that Jade got so into movies. Even if half of them scared the wits out of her, she wouldn’t mind watching movies with Jade like this.

But that thought made Tori pause. The warmth that bloomed in her chest every time she saw Jade, the desire to be near her, wanting to watch movies and be close with her- she’d never felt like that for anyone before. Not even her past boyfriends. 

She didn’t like where this train of thought was going, so she stopped it. She chalked it up to just wanting to be friends with Jade, again. She’d been fighting for so long just to be friends that this was natural, wasn’t it?

It had to be.

“So, what’d you think of the movie?’ Jade asked as the credits rolled.

“It was good,” Tori said simply.

Jade snorted. “Just good? That movie is basically legendary.”

Tori rolled over and propped herself up over Jade. “Legendary, huh? I think you might be biased.”

Jade gasped in mock horror. “How  _ dare _ you! I’ll have you know, Vega, that that movie is iconic and I have no problem killing over it.”

“Yeah, okay, West. Just remember that you’re in my turf right now. I could smother you with a pillow if I wanted to.”

Jade looked at her, eyebrow raised. “Is that a challenge?”

“What if it is?”

Jade lunged upward, grabbing Tori’s wrists and turning to pin her to the bed. Tori, however, wiggled out of her grasp, and threw a pillow at her. She scrambled onto the ground, and sat up as Jade threw herself at Tori again. This time instead of just having her wrists in control, Jade also took the liberty to pin Tori’s torso to the ground by straddling her, which also left their faces inches apart.

“Goddamnit,” Tori gasped, still struggling.

“Cool it, Vega, and I’ll let you go.”

Tori stopped wiggling and looked up at Jade.

Jade bit her lip, and leaned closer to Tori. Tori’s eyes fluttered shut as they moved closer.

“Tori, I’m home!” Trina called from downstairs.

Jade scrambled away from Tori frantically. “I should leave,” she said quickly.

Tori sat up as Jade started gathering her things. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Jade all but ran from Tori’s room, leaving Tori feeling lonely, again, and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all have a fantastic week, I'll see y'all Thursday!


	10. The Stupid Magnet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW minor injury again. But enjoy.  
> Tweaked the end for clarity, sorry about that

Jade was a mess. A raging, flaming gay mess. And she  _ might _ have a crush on Tori. Maybe.

She’d known for longer than she wished she had, and just buried it, locked it away, hoping it would eventually drown into nothing. But it didn’t. Every moment she spent with Tori made it stronger, and she couldn’t get herself to stop. 

And she couldn’t do anything, because when she told Tori she was gay, Tori only seemed confused. 

Okay,  _ maybe _ she didn’t actually tell Tori that she was gay. But mentioning her ‘gay awakening’ was pretty black and white, right? But Tori didn’t say that she was gay, too, and Jade had only seen her show interest in guys before, so it’s a safe bet to say that Tori was straight.

You would think that would give Jade peace of mind, but if anything, it just made her more anxious. What if she spent too much time with Tori and Tori figured out that she liked her? Would Tori think she was some sort of creep? Would she out Jade to the school? The possibilities of this going wrong were endless.

She decided to call Beck. He’d know what to do- he always did.

He picked up after a couple of rings. “Jade?”

“Beck. I have a problem.”

“A problem? Give me a moment,” Beck said. There was muffled movement on his side of the phone for a moment. “Okay, sorry, what’s up?”

“I think I might have a crush on Tori.” Beck snorted in response. “What?” Jade huffed.

“Nothing, nothing. Just took you awhile to figure it out, don’t you think?”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that there’s always been that tension between you two, ever since you guys met. She’s always bringing out a side of you that I’ve never even seen before. Yeah, you guys didn’t get along at first, but the way you paid attention to her… it’d be kinda hard to see that you  _ didn’t _ feel anything for her.”

Jade sighed. “I… I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Talk to her?”

“She’s not even gay!”

“I still think talking to her would be the best course of action.”

“Of course you do. Never mind, it’s fine.”

“No, Jade-” 

Jade hung up the phone and sighed.

Staying away from Tori wasn’t an option at this moment. Being friends was risky, but it was better than nothing, right?

**Vega**

_ Today, 8:02 PM _

**Do you want a ride to school tomorrow?**

**Sure.**

**I’ll pick you up at 7:15.**

Jade smiled. Yes, this was a bad idea, but she couldn’t stop herself.

Even if she could, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

* * *

Tech week was a literal, actual flaming mess, with glitter and bad birthday magicians thrown in.

Seriously, Sikowitz has got to be smoking something.

Thankfully, the long nights of rehearsals weren’t made longer by Tori waiting for Trina to pick her up. Jade had offered to take her home after rehearsal every night, after much insistence from Cat.

With all that was going on, though, she didn’t have any time to actually think about how she felt about Jade. 

Not until the night of the show, at least.

Everything was going perfectly fine until the ending scene. Tori heard the people laugh when she fell asleep. She yelled “Blast off!” as Nancy-Jade woke her.

“No, no, you were saying that I’m…?” Nancy-Jade said, heartbreak written all over her face.

“Oh. Right. You’re so good. Gentle. How could you love a sleepy loser like me?”

“You are no sleepy loser,” Nancy-Jade said, sighing. “You’re an astronaut.”

There was so much kindness in Jade’s eyes. Tori gazed into them, noticing that they weren’t green as she thought they were originally, but instead were blue. “I love you,” Walter-Tori said, moving closer.

Jade’s eyes flicked down to Tori’s lips briefly, before looking back up. “I love you,” she responded.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze for Tori as every nerve in her body screamed for her to kiss Jade. She didn’t know where the desire came from, or why- all she knew is that her eyes were flickering closed again as she leaned forward.

Jade pulled her into a hug.

“Good show,” Jade whispered to her before they broke apart to the thunderous applause. Jade grabbed Tori’s hand as they bowed.

Much to Tori’s disappointment, she felt Jade slip away as the audience started standing to leave.

Andre walked up to Tori and hugged her. “Good show, Tor! You did great.”

“Thanks, Andre, so did you. Hey, do you mind if later on I talk to you about something?”

“Sure, you wanna talk at the party?”

“No, no, probably sometime after that-”

“Hey, Vega!” Jade called. Tori was surprised to see that she was already out of costume. “You want a ride to the cast party?”

* * *

Maybe getting drunk at a cast party wasn’t a good idea, but Tori honestly didn’t care. It wasn’t even technically a cast party- no, the cast, crew, and company ended up going to a house party in Northridge that Andre had gotten an invite to, and was allowed to bring everyone along.

It was the first house party Tori had ever even been to. Might as well live a little, right?

Still, maybe she should’ve cut herself off sooner. She was sipping a glass of water as she walked around slowly, because any fast movements made the entire house spin in a way that made her nauseous and upset. She decided that maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind a little bit- not that it needed only a simple clearing. She was pretty sure that she was so drunk that she could barely even think anymore. 

So, outside she went. She was vaguely aware of some drunk football players throwing around, you guessed it, a football, and some other people smoking what smelled like weed by the pool. She walked into the yard and looked up at the stars.

The football players cheered, and Tori felt someone slam into her, toppling her over. She hit her head on the ground, and felt the world spin even though she wasn’t even moving. The weight of whoever fell on her lifted, and she blinked a couple times, confused at all the faces circling her. She lifted a hand to her pounding head.

Something red dripped off her hand and onto her face, and she looked at it, confused. The people above her were murmuring, but she couldn’t figure out what they were saying. Jade’s face appeared out of the haze.

Jade was looking at her, concerned, and seemed to be saying something, but Tori couldn’t figure out what she was saying, either. Jade looked over her shoulder for a moment.

Tori groaned in protest as two pairs of hands pulled her up and sandwiched her between them. Her legs moved slightly, but all her movements were sluggish and pained. She slowly became more aware of what was happening when she heard Andre’s voice.

“-leave her alone for too long, and I swear, trouble finds that girl. She’s like a magnet.”

“I’ll say,” Jade replied behind them. Beck laughed. 

Beck and Andre lead her into the house, and to the bathroom, where they sat her on the toilet. “My head hurts,” Tori said as they put her down.

Andre laughed, which only caused more pain in her head. 

“You two go enjoy the party, I’ll take care of Vega,” Jade said softly. If anything else was said, Tori didn’t catch it, on account of her aching head and the music that was turned up way too loud. Had it been that loud the entire time?

Jade crouched in front of her, frowning. “What did you land on?” she asked.

“I dunno,” Tori mumbled. 

Jade shook her head. “Your arms are still bleeding. What is it with you and getting hurt all the time?” She grabbed a wad of toilet paper and began trying to wipe the blood away, but the blood kept coming at an alarming rate. Jade tried to not let her worry show on her face. "Up we go," Jade said softly, helping Tori up. Jade led Tori from the toilet to the bathtub, turning on the showerhead on the lightest setting. Tori sat in the bathtub and let Jade rinse her arms, her clothes getting soaked in the process. 

It didn’t occur to her until a moment later that maybe she should take off her clothes so they wouldn’t get as wet, so she started trying to shimmy out of her shirt, but stopped when her arms started hurting more. 

“Ow.”

Jade snorted. “Yeah, no shit. You landed on something sharp, all right.”

“My shirt is wet.”

“And you’re drunker than a skunk,” Jade replied. “What do you want me to do about it?”

“Help me out of my shirt, it’s getting wet.”

Jade sighed, but complied. Tori sat in the bathtub, now in her bra and jeans. She started pulling on her pants, too, to get them off, but stopped after a moment and threw up on herself. “Jesus, Vega, you’re a mess.” Jade reached down, rinsing Tori off. “I think you need to go to the hospital,” Jade said softly.

Tori tried to turn her head before stopping because it hurt to move, and she was dizzy still, even if she was only sitting down. “Why?”

Jade sighed. “Because if you weren’t so drunk, you’d know how much pain you’re supposed to be in. Plus, you hit your head pretty hard, and just threw up. Come on, let’s get you back in your clothes, I’ll drive you there.”

“I don’t wanna wear a wet shirt to the hospital,” Tori said, pouting. Jade sighed again, then took off her jacket and shirt. She handed the shirt to Tori, then put her jacket back on. She slowly helped Tori out of the bathtub. “Everything’s dizzy,” Tori complained.

“Yeah, not surprising,” Jade said. “Fuck, you’re dripping blood still. Wrap your arms up in your t-shirt.” After a moment of fumbling, and some help from Jade, Tori was now being led by her elbow, considering her arms were wrapped up like a straight jacket. 

Jade pushed through the crowd, Tori stumbling behind her, until they got outside. Jade, still leading Tori- which is good, because Tori felt like she was going to fall at any moment.

* * *

Jade decided that there was some sort of magnet in her that attracted stupid people.

It would make sense, considering the only people who had enough balls to approach her at school were idiots, Beck was definitely a himbim- it should be noted that he agrees with her, and constantly works out to try to gain enough muscle to “level up” to himbo status- and her entire friend group, minus Andre, seemed to be lacking brain cells.

Cat was one thing. They’ve been friends since fifth grade, a.k.a. before Jade became scary, and Jade knew that sometimes stuff flew over her head.

But Tori?

Like Andre had said- leave her alone for  _ a little bit _ too long, and the girl attracted trouble like a light bulbs attract bugs.

Yep, Jade was an idiot magnet.

Jade was pretty sure she had a concussion. All her responses were slowed, she seemed  _ way _ out of it, even if she was drunk, and then she threw up.

So Jade was driving her to the hospital.

“Vega, you’re not allowed to sleep.”

They were at a stoplight, and Tori  _ was _ leaning her head against Jade’s shoulder, but now her head was against the headrest, and her eyes were shut tightly.

“‘Mm not sleeping,” Tori slurred. “Don’ feel good…”

“Jesus, Vega, don’t throw up in my car,” Jade said desperately. Green light. She rolled down Tori’s window as she started driving again.

Jade heard Tori start heaving, her head leaned out the window. Jade reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “Almost there, baby,” Jade said softly. Tori leaned her head back against Jade’s shoulder and groaned.

Jade pulled into the emergency room drop-off center of the nearest hospital, and turned off the car. “I’ll be right back with a wheelchair, okay? Don’t fall asleep.”

Tori mumbled something that Jade didn’t catch. Jade leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Tori’s forehead, then got out and jogged to the entrance to grab a wheelchair. She came back to the car quickly and helped Tori out, then wheeled her quickly into the hospital.

The waiting room was empty, thankfully, so they were able to go to the desk immediately.

The lady didn’t even look up. “Name of patient?” she asked. 

“Tor- Victoria Vega,” Jade said quickly.

The lady typed into her computer. “Reason for visit?”

“I think she has a concussion, and she has cuts on her arm that might need stitches.”

“Symptoms of the concussion?”

“Slurred speech, vomiting, and she keeps saying she’s dizzy.”

More typing. “There’ll be a wait of about 15 minutes.”

Jade sighed, then pushed Tori to a chair. Tori was sitting with her head leaned forward. “You doing okay, Vega?”

Tori groaned.

Jade reached over and started stroking Tori’s hair softly. Tori shifted slightly so that she was leaning against Jade awkwardly. The nurse came to collect them a moment later. Jade pushed Tori into the room, then helped her on to the bed. As soon as Tori was settled, Jade turned to walk to the chair, but was stopped by Tori grabbing her hand.

“Don’t leave,” Tori said softly.

“I’m not going anywhere, Vega,” Jade said. “I’m right here.”

Jade sat on the bed, close to Tori, and Tori leaned awkwardly to put her head on Jade's chest. Jade wrapped her arms around Tori, and started humming a song.

"I like your voice," Tori said softly.

Jade continued humming, unsure how to respond.

"Jade?"

"What's up, Vega?"

Tori paused, like she was going to say something important. Jade felt butterflies burst in her stomach as Tori looked up at her.

"My head hurts," Tori finally said.

"Never would've guessed," Jade said, guiding Tori's head back down. "Don't fall asleep."

"I know." Silence, for a moment. Jade debated continuing to hum before Tori said something again. "Jade?"

"What?"

The doctor opened the door. Jade stood up to get out of the way of the examination; she tried to ignore how irked at the fact that she'd probably never know what Tori was going to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see yall on monday!


	11. Interlude #1: Cat and Jade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Cat and Jade met, and how Jade became Ben's primary caretaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late! Life has been crazy lmao. Sorry if this isn't as good as my writing normally is, but I hope you enjoy

Jade remembers a time before everything was hell.

Looking back at it, she supposes it was still hell, but a different kind. She never knew where she fit in, and her biggest problem was not wanting to eat asparagus with her dinner.

Her dad was not a nicer person back then. He was still an asshole- especially to her mother- but at least he didn’t drink yet. Logically, Jade knows now that since Ben was about to start Pre-K, stuff probably got a lot worse for her mom, but she still resents her for leaving.

Jade hears a replay of that day any time her anxiety got too strong, or even whenever her dad decided to pay her a visit in the middle of the night, before she moved into the basement and got a deadbolt for the door.

Jade was in fifth grade.

She remembers that she was at the table doing homework. Ben was in his seat at the table with her, attempting to color on a page, but was usually coloring the tray holding the paper up instead.

She remembers her dad coming home. He slammed the door shut- she looked up at him, but didn’t say anything. Back then, she knew not to talk back. Perhaps she should have kept that skill.

Her dad was red in the face as he marched up the stairs, silent besides his footsteps and his breathing.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that something bad was going to happen.

Jade was calm until she heard the first crash. She flinched at the sound of it. Ben started to cry. Yelling could be heard from up the stairs.

Jade got up silently and walked to the kitchen, where her mother’s purse was. Glancing around, Jade reached in and fished for the wallet.

The second crash- more yelling. Jade’s fingers secured around the wallet. She pulled it out as Ben started crying louder.

Quickly, quickly, Jade opened the wallet and pulled out a crisp hundred from the stack. Her mom wouldn’t miss it. In all the times she’s stolen from her mother, her mother never brought it up.

Maybe, maybe, her mom knew, but understood.

Jade felt anxiety rise up in her throat as footsteps thudded above her. She pocketed the cash, replaced the wallet. A loud thud from above. She went to Ben as quickly and quietly as she could.

“Benji-Benji, you wanna go get some ice cream?”

Ben looked at her, face red from crying. “Ice cream?” he babbled back, blinking away tears.

“Yeah, buddy, Jadey’s gonna take you to the store to get ice cream! Come on, bubba, upsy-daisy.” Jade lifted him into her arms as Ben babbled back excitedly. 

She was walking to the door quickly when there was another thud, then the sound of a slap. Her mom screamed.

Even with the concept of ice cream in his head, Ben started crying again. Jade hushed him quietly as she went out the door. 

Footsteps down the stairs. She shut the door quickly, knowing time was short. If her dad saw them, she knew she’d get in trouble, and she already knew the drill by now- her mother would run out the door and into her car, she’d drive away, and her father would stand on the driveway yelling obscenities. Her mother would come back later that night, smelling faintly of alcohol and the beach, long after Jade would’ve put Ben to bed in her absence. Her mom would come into Jade’s room, sit on the side of the bed, stroke Jade’s hair, and tell her that she loved her. Jade would pretend to be asleep, so her mom would stay longer.

So Jade did what she did every time she knew that there wouldn’t be enough time to escape the wrath of her father. She ran to the bush to the side of the house, the one she’d hollowed out years ago- the one she only took Ben to when she had to. 

“Secret hideout time,” she said to Ben quietly. He lit up, then brought his hand to his mouth and made a shushing sound, mimicking Jade putting her finger to her lips whenever they were inside the bush. She let him go in first, then crawled in after him as she heard the front door slam open.

“You bitch! Get back here!” she heard her father shout.

She heard the click of her mother’s heels as she ran. “Get away from me!” her mother cried. 

The car door slammed shut.

Her father yelled in pain.

The tires screeched in protest as her mother drove away.

“Dammit!” her father yelled. “Fuck you!”

Quiet for a moment, before the front door slammed again, this time shut. Jade heard her father yelling for her and Ben.

“Come on, Benji-Benji, time to go get ice cream,” Jade whispered. Ben crawled out of the bush, Jade behind him. She scooped him up, then started jogging on the sidewalk until their house was out of sight.

When Jade gets them out in time, Ben usually walks part of the way. But Ben was still shaken up, so he clung to Jade like she was his lifeline. By the time they got to the gas station, her arms were aching.

She placed him down in front of the freezer so he could pick out his ice cream, and started swinging her arms around in an attempt to get the blood flowing again. When she looked back over at Ben, he was attempting to pull open the freezer. A young girl stepped forward and opened it for him. 

“Hi, baby!” the girl cooed. Ben looked at her and smiled, then reached in the freezer to grab a pint of whichever ice cream he decided he wanted. It was unusual for him to go for the pint sized ones, but Jade decided she didn’t care too much.

Ben waddled over to Jade to show her his choice. “Funky nut blast, huh, kiddo?” she asked quietly. 

“That’s my brother’s favorite flavor!” the girl said brightly. She looked at Jade. “My name’s Cat. What’s yours?”

Jade looked at her curiously. She had fair skin and dark brown hair- her eyes seemed too big for her face, almost like she was perpetually surprised by anything that was happening around her. After a pause, Jade finally said, “I’m Jade.”

“Hi, Jade! That’s such a pretty name.” She gestured at Ben, who was now crouched on the ground, looking at the tiles. “Is he your brother?”

Jade nodded. “Tell her your name, buddy,” she said, nudging Ben. 

Ben looked at her. “Ben-ja-min!” He crowed, over pronouncing each syllable of his name. Jade smiled at him.

“My parents just call him Ben. I call him Benji every now and then, but dad says that it makes him sound like a dog instead of a person.”

Cat laughed. “Yeah, my brother usually introduces me as his ‘cat sister’ instead of his ‘sister, Cat,’ and a lot of people get confused. How old are you?”

“I’m ten, about to turn eleven,” Jade said.

“Wow, me too!” Cat said, smiling. “Do you have a phone? We should trade numbers because I think we’ll be awesome friends.”

Jade wanted to say no, she really did. Normally, anytime she met someone new, she didn’t give them any of her contact information, because her dad always told her that you can’t trust people. But something about Cat’s bubbly, excited personality was infectious, and she was surprised that she was so amicable with the girl, so she nodded and pulled out her phone. She opened her messages app and then handed it to Cat, who in turn handed her phone over to Jade as well. After a moment, they traded back phones.

“I’m gonna text you now!” Cat said. Jade’s phone buzzed. She smiled at the fact that Cat had put three hearts next to her name for the contact information.

Ben started pulling on Jade’s shirt, babbling about the ice cream. Jade looked at Cat apologetically. “I should probably buy his stuff now and then head back home. Dad is probably wondering where we got to.”

Cat nodded. “No worries! I’ll talk to you later!” She skipped out of the gas station. Jade led Ben to the register, paid for the ice cream, and they started walking back home.

Her dad wasn’t home when she got back, which was unusual. Jade made food for Ben, then put on some cartoons, since no one was allowed to tell her no. But then it started getting late, and Ben was getting tired, so she took him upstairs to put him to bed.

She went to her own room after, and got ready for bed herself, before laying down to wait for her mom to come home.

Her mom didn’t come before she fell asleep, but thankfully, neither did her dad.

But they weren’t there in the morning, either, which was also unusual.

Jade decided that it’d be better to figure something out than risk her dad coming home to Ben and Jade still there instead of at school, so she got them both ready for the day, made some breakfast, and stepped outside. 

She normally walked to school, but she’d never had to take Ben to daycare before. Of course, she knew where it was, so that wasn’t an issue, but how far of a walk was it? Would Ben make the entire walk?

Probably not.

So Jade went into the garage, and pulled out her mom’s bike, which had a baby seat on the front. She loaded Ben onto it, then attempted to hop on herself, but the bike was too tall for her, and she didn’t want to risk Ben getting hurt, so she got to walking with the bike.

This was the first time Jade had ever hated her parents.

She made it to the daycare unscathed, thankfully, and checked Ben in without any issues. But when she looked at the time, she realized she had ten minutes to get to school with a twenty minute walk ahead of her.

So she used the bike.

To be fair, she only fell three times, and only one of those times resulted in her actually getting hurt, but it was only a scrape, so she kept going. She got to school just as the warning bell rang, locked up the bike, and ran to class.

“Jade! I’m glad you made it!”

“Thanks, Mr. Hill. Sorry I’m late.”

“Not late yet, Jade.” Mr. Hill’s eyes widened. “Are you aware that you’re bleeding?”

Jade looked down at her jeans. One of her kneecaps had a brown stain seeping through. 

“Uh. Can I go to the nurse’s office, please?”

* * *

Jade was walking through the door when the home phone rang. 

“West house, Jade speaking,” she said.

“Hi, Jade, are either of your parents home?” someone asked from the other side.

“I don’t think so, why?”

“We’ve tried ringing both your parents because Ben still hasn’t been picked up. Do you know if they’re on their way?”

“Um, I can pick him up, I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, sweetie, thank you!” The phone line clicked.

* * *

Jade was walking home with Ben strapped to the bike when a truck stopped next to her. She stared at it, daring someone to come out and make a comment. But when someone  _ did _ step out…

“Cat?”

“Jade! It is you! See, I told my mom that I knew you but she almost didn’t stop. Do you need a ride?”

“Uh, no, it’s okay. I think I got it.”

“Don’t be silly! It’s no problem for us,” A woman- Cat’s mom- said from the car. Jade looked at Ben, who was cooing at the truck. “We’ll even let y’all sit in the trunk, if you want.”

Jade sighed, and nodded. She was tired, anyways.

Cat bounded to the back of the truck and opened it. “I can grab the baby, you get the bike?” she asked.

“Okay.”

Cat’s mom opened the back window, which was cool, Jade didn’t even know cars could do that, to get directions from Jade as they drove. When they finally pulled up to the house, Cat’s mom asked, “Are your parents out right now?”

“Uh, yeah, they’re… they’re out.”

“Well, call me if you need any help with anything, hun. Cat hasn’t stopped talking about you since y’all met!”

Cat flushed, but flashed a smile at Jade. Jade grinned back.

* * *

When her parents didn’t come back that night, either, Jade took her bike out of the garage and got to work on moving Ben’s seat from her mom’s bike to her own. After, she let Ben have two candies instead of one, because no one was there to stop her.

Her dad didn’t come back for another two days after that. When he walked in the house, he didn’t even look at either of them, just grabbed a beer and walked upstairs.

* * *

“I can take him to school,” Jade said the next morning, as her father rubbed the sleep- or lack of- from his eyes. 

He glared at her. “What, you think you’re his fucking mom now?”

Jade glared back, defiant. “No. But I’ve had to take him to school the past couple days anyways, so I might as well keep doing it.”

Her father walked close to her, and leaned in her face. Jade could smell the alcohol on his breath, and tried not to flinch back. “Fine then. You can take him to school, you can pick him up, and when you’re done playing house, you can cry about how you’re tired, but you chose this.” He turned to walk out of the room, but stopped at the doorway. “I’ll get you a credit card so you can buy his fucking groceries, too. But don’t expect any help from me.”


	12. Her Favorite Color is Purple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I'm having,,,, A Time

Tori woke up with a pounding headache and a lot of blank spots in her memory of last night. Sunlight was streaming in through the window into her eyes directly, so she rolled over, then groaned at the pain that just that simple movement caused. The door opened.

“Vega? Are you up?”

“Kinda,” Tori mumbled into the pillow. She froze. “Where are we?” she asked slowly.

“My place. You were pretty messed up last night, and the nurse said not to leave you alone, so I brought you here.” The bed dipped beside Tori. “I brought you some water and some ibuprofen for your head.”

Tori turned over and accepted the items gratefully. “My head hurts,” she whined. “And my arms.”

Jade snorted. “Yeah, not surprised. Have you seen yourself yet?”

Tori laid back down and groaned. “No.”

“You’re doing yourself a favor, then. I’m gonna go back to the main room, text me if you need anything.” 

“Wait,” Tori said as Jade turned around. Jade looked at her curiously. “I don’t wanna be alone. Can you stay with me?” She paused. “Please? We can watch movies or something.”

Jade fought the urge to smile at her, and shrugged instead. “Beats being kicked out of my own room, I guess. You sure you’re up for a movie?”

Tori nodded, scooting over and patting the bed next to her. “I’ll even let you pick!”

Jade flopped onto the bed next to Tori, and reached to the bedside table for the remote. “How’s your foot?” She asked as she loaded up WebFlix.

“Oh, it’s basically all better now. I’ve been through worse.”

Jade hummed in response. “I’m putting on The Scissoring, is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Jade got engrossed in the movie quickly, mouthing along with the lines, even miming along at certain parts. Tori watched, transfixed, trying to ignore the pain in her head. After a while, though, the screams started to grate on her ears. She laid back and closed her eyes, wincing every time the movie got a little too loud.

The sounds stopped abruptly. “Vega?”

“Yeah?” Tori said.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah… the movie’s just a bit loud. Could you turn it down a bit?”

Jade didn’t reply. After a moment, Tori opened her eyes to see Jade scrolling on her phone, the TV off.

“You didn’t have to-”

“It’s cool, Vega, don’t sweat. I don’t wanna make you more uncomfortable than you already are.”

“Oh.” Tori closed her eyes again. After a moment, though, Jade started to shift nervously. “Are you okay?” Tori asked.

“Mhm.”

They lapsed back into silence. Jade seemed to be aware of her previous movements, because she was now  _ uncomfortably _ still.

“Do you… wanna talk?” Tori asked uncertainly. 

“About what?”

“I dunno. What’s your favorite color?”

“Black,” Jade replied without hesitation.

“Besides that?”

“Why do I have to have a different favorite color?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Tori backtracked quickly. “I just… A lot of people can tell that your favorite color is black. I was just wondering if… Sorry. Never mind.”

Jade was quiet for a moment. “My other favorite is yellow,” she said softly. 

“Yellow?”

“Like… like dandelions. Or sunflowers.”

“That’s honestly really cute,” Tori said.

Jade shoved her gently. “Shut up.” After a moment, Jade asked, “What’s yours?”

“My favorite color?”

“No, your social security number. Yes, your favorite color, dipshit.”

“Purple.”

Jade snorted. “Figures.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Why, nothing at all. Sweet Sally Peaches just likes lavender, don’t she?” Jade said in the Sweet Sally Peaches voice.

“I don’t talk like that!” Tori said, pushing Jade. “And I hate lavender, actually.”

Jade looked at her curiously. “Really?”

“I mean, it’s a nice color, but it just gets on my nerves. Whenever something is ‘lavender’ colored, it’s always so much lighter than the color of the flower.”

“So what kind of purple?”

“Like a violet-ish, I guess? When I was younger, I wanted to dye my hair violet because of it. My mom said no. Or, she said she’d help me dye it on my 16th birthday.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Tori shrugged. “She wasn’t home for it. I had all the materials, but I was too nervous to do it myself.”

“My dad’s usually out of town for my birthdays, I get it.”

Tori shrugged. “She wasn’t out of town. She just… forgot.”

“How do you forget your own kid’s birthday?”

Tori shrugged again. “Probably pretty easy if you have a dick in your mouth,” she mumbled quietly.

Jade gaped at her. Tori opened her eyes after a moment of silence. “Oh my god, did I say that out loud?” Tori seemed genuinely horrified. 

Jade laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” Tori closed her eyes again, but Jade noticed that her jaw was tensed. Figuring it wouldn’t do well for Tori to just stew on the information she had just accidentally shared, Jade spoke again. “What kind of music do you usually listen to?

“Depends on my mood,” Tori mumbled.

Jade hesitated before asking, “What would you listen to right now?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Panic! at the Disco? Or Palaye Royale?”

“You listen to Panic?”

“Yep.”

“That’s… pretty cool,” Jade said softly. “Who’s the other band?”

“Palaye Royale?”

“Never heard of them.”

“You should listen to some of their music. Except not out loud, my head hurts.”

“...I have headphones?” Jade said uncertainly.

“If you’re gonna listen to them, I suggest ‘Mr. Doctor Man.’ It’s a bop.”

“A bop, huh? That’s a pretty high bar you’re setting there,” Jade said as she pulled up her music app. She typed the name into the search bar, then plugged her headphones in before pushing play.

She hummed appreciatively as a guitar riff immediately started playing. As the vocals started, she started bobbing her head in time- it was a pretty good song. Maybe not  _ bop _ worthy, but still catchy. She took out her headphones and voiced her opinion to Tori, who smiled. 

“What kind of music do you like, then?” Tori asked.

“Metal. Or anything metal-ish. I could probably listen to Palaye Royale occasionally.”

“Who’s your favorite band?”

“Ice Nine Kills,” Jade answered without hesitation. “You should listen when your head feels better.”

“I will,” she replied. “Oh! I have someone else you should listen to,” Tori said mischievously. Jade eyed her warily as she continued. “Go ahead and listen to Crimson Apple. I like them.”

Jade snorted. “That’s a stupid fucking name.”

“Not any more stupid than ‘Ice Nine Kills,’” Tori countered. 

Jade gasped in mock-horror. “You take that back!”

“Not unless you listen to them.”

“You’re a gank.”

“So are you,” Tori retorted, smiling.

Jade groaned good naturedly. “I’ll listen to them later.”

“M’kay.” Tori’s stomach growled loudly. Jade laughed as she turned bright red.

“Do you want some food?”

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll go grab something for you,” Jade said softly, sliding off of the bed. After a moment, Tori decided she still didn’t want to be alone, so she got up to follow Jade, ignoring the way the ground seemed to taunt her with each step. She opened the door, only to stand stupidly in shock at what she saw.

She’d never been inside Jade’s house before, but it was  _ huge _ . The door from Jade’s room lead directly into a living room, with a kitchen off to the side. She walked to the kitchen, where Jade was humming herself as she cooked on the stove. Tori resisted the urge to go hug her from behind, deciding that she didn’t want to get kicked in the shin. She sat at the breakfast bar and asked, “Whatcha making?”

Jade threw a half-hearted glare over her shoulder. “Don’t sneak up on me while I’m cooking. I have knives in here, you know.”

“Ooh, you’ve graduated from threatening me with scissors to threatening me with knives? Awesome.”

Jade snorted. “I’m making eggs, by the way. Do you have a special diet?”

“Nope,” Tori responded. “Eggs sound great. Do you need any help?”

“Are you sure you’re up for helping?”

“Psh, yeah! This isn’t my first concussion. I’ve handled worse before.”

Jade eyed her. “In that case, I definitely don’t want you helping. You need to rest. You know your brain doesn’t ever fully recover from concussions, right?”

Tori shrugged. “Too late now, isn’t it?”

Jade turned away from her to continue cooking. “What are you even doing to get concussions? Slip in the shower?”

“Nah, I do MMA.”

Jade dropped the spatula and turned to look at her in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? There’s no way you do MMA.”  
Tori grinned and shrugged. “Believe what you wanna believe. But, _I_ believe… that the eggs are burning.”

The eggs were, in fact, burning. Jade turned around quickly and swore. She turned the stove off and picked up the pan, and moved it to a different, cold, burner. Tori laughed. “You’re a little shit, Vega,” Jade said.

“But you love me anyways!” Tori teased. 

Jade’s facial expression softened. “Yeah, I do,” she said fondly. Tori thanked the gods that Jade wasn’t turned in a way that she’d be able to see the blush on Tori’s face. 

Tori cleared her throat. “So, this is a nice place. It’s big.”

“Thanks. I’m honestly surprised that my dad hasn’t made a fuss about me still being down here, it used to be his ‘man-cave’ back before Mom-” Jade coughed. “Before I moved down here, I mean.”

Tori looked at her, confused. “‘Down here?’”

“Yeah, the basement?”

_ “This is just the basement? _ Jade, this is basically the same size as my entire house!”

Jade looked sheepish as she served Tori a plate of eggs and toast. “Like I said, I’m surprised my dad hasn’t kicked me out yet.”

Tori lifted her arms to the table, then cringed. She looked at her arms curiously. “I have  _ stitches?” _

Jade laughed. “Took you long enough to realize. You were pretty banged up last night.”

Tori sighed, then took a bite of her eggs. “Thank you for making me food,” she said quietly. “And for taking care of me last night.”

Jade hummed. “No problem. Sorry the eggs are burnt.”

Tori shrugged. “It was my fault for distracting you.”

Jade poked at her eggs. “So, MMA, huh?”

“Yeah,” Tori said, taking another bite. “What about it?”

“How long have you been doing it?”

“Oh, years now. I think I started when I was thirteen? Dad signed me up because I broke my hand punching a kid at school.”

Jade coughed. “What’d you punch a kid for?”

Tori laughed. “Oh, you know, he was making fun of me. I told him to shut his mouth, and he didn’t, so…”

“Damn, Vega!” Jade laughed. 

Tori laughed with her. “Would you believe me if I told you that it was Robbie that I punched?”

“There is no way!”

“I swear! He and I used to be friends in middle school. I think I’m the reason he’s so afraid of girls, sometimes.”

“That is so great, remind me to use that against him sometime.”

“No, don’t! He’s already scared of both of us enough!” They both continued laughing, and Tori felt her heart flutter at how  _ relaxed _ Jade was. “Anyways, yeah, my dad signed me up for MMA, and after I got really into it, my instructor helped me do semi-professional matches. One time, though, I did an actual championship once. Have you ever seen the CFC’s?”

Realization dawned on Jade’s face. “There’s no fucking way. You're Shelby Marx?!”

“Yep! I got pretty banged up from one of those fights, though, so my parents don’t let me do official fights anymore.”

“And you listen to them?” Jade asked, incredulous. 

Tori snorted. “Hell no, I don’t. They’re not even around enough to tell me what I can and can’t do. I do unofficial fights now, every now and then, though usually only during breaks.”

“Unofficial, as in… underground?”

“Yep. I usually make some pretty good money from it. And if my parents are home, I just have to stay in my room and they don’t even notice if I have a black eye.”

Jade felt something tug in her gut. “I definitely get that. My dad doesn't tend to notice what’s going on with me, either.” Jade cleared her throat, uncomfortable. “Uh, you mentioned that your mom… well, uh. Do you want to talk about it?”

Tori shook her head. “Maybe some other time, but not right now.” Jade nodded, silent. “But I appreciate you asking,” Tori said, putting her hand over Jade’s. Jade stiffened, but didn’t pull away. Tori smiled at her.

Jade smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet I guess???  
> After this chapter, we start to deviate from canon, like. A lot.  
> Or, more than we already have, I guess. Prepare for a lot of ups and downs, my friends

**Author's Note:**

> CONGRATULATIONS YOU'RE READING FASTER THAN I'M UPDATING  
> LEAVE ME COMMENTS PLEASE IT GIVES ME LIFE  
> I PROMISE I WILL UPDATE REGULARLY  
> PLEASE SCREAM AT ME ON TUMBLR @funkylittlepenguin  
> THAT IT THX BYEEEE


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